China Petrochemical Corp., or Sinopec Group, has started surveying the Pengshui shale gas block in southwest China to evaluate the resource potential as the company ventures into unconventional oil and gas exploration, the company said Wednesday in a report on its website.
The Pengshui block is located in the Yunnan-Guizhou plateau and Sichuan basin and was registered in August this year, said Sinopec Group, which is the state-owned parent of Hong-Kong listed Sinopec Corp. and the country's largest refiner.
Sinopec has deployed a team to study an area covering 453.3 sq km to collect seismic data on the shale gas potential.
China's Ministry of Land & Resources is due to launch its maiden bid soon for shale gas licensing. Four local oil companies, including Sinopec, will be permitted to participate in the bid for six blocks.
This is the first time Beijing has offered oil and gas resources via a commercial licensing bidding process. Oil and gas resources are usually offered to companies via a registration process.
The six blocks -- three in Guizhou, one each in Chongqing, Anhui and Zhejiang -- cover 40,000 cubic sq km in area. The four companies to be invited are CNOOC, PetroChina, Shaanxi Yanchang Petroleum Corp. and Sinopec.
CNOOC, PetroChina and Sinopec are state-owned, while Shaanxi Yanchang is owned by the Shaanxi government.
According to expert estimates, China could hold up to 26 trillion cubic meters of shale gas in reserves, similar to the volume of reserves in the US, the official said.
The Pengshui block is located in the Yunnan-Guizhou plateau and Sichuan basin and was registered in August this year, said Sinopec Group, which is the state-owned parent of Hong-Kong listed Sinopec Corp. and the country's largest refiner.
Sinopec has deployed a team to study an area covering 453.3 sq km to collect seismic data on the shale gas potential.
China's Ministry of Land & Resources is due to launch its maiden bid soon for shale gas licensing. Four local oil companies, including Sinopec, will be permitted to participate in the bid for six blocks.
This is the first time Beijing has offered oil and gas resources via a commercial licensing bidding process. Oil and gas resources are usually offered to companies via a registration process.
The six blocks -- three in Guizhou, one each in Chongqing, Anhui and Zhejiang -- cover 40,000 cubic sq km in area. The four companies to be invited are CNOOC, PetroChina, Shaanxi Yanchang Petroleum Corp. and Sinopec.
CNOOC, PetroChina and Sinopec are state-owned, while Shaanxi Yanchang is owned by the Shaanxi government.
According to expert estimates, China could hold up to 26 trillion cubic meters of shale gas in reserves, similar to the volume of reserves in the US, the official said.
