Prospects and strategic position of shale gas resources in China

Production of shale gas will get more prosperous and will expand rapidly along with technical progress and improvement of economic conditions.The prospects of shale gas exploration and production and the strategic position of shale gas resources in China are analyzed after introducing the domestic and foreign shale gas resource volumes.As required by the overall development strategy of petroleum industry in China,prospecting for natural gas reserves is a task of top priority.The organic-rich shale formations were extensively deposited in different geologic periods in China and had favorable conditions for the generation and accumulation of shale gas.They have huge potentials of gas resources and bright prospects of exploration and production,and will surely become a major new field of gas exploration and production.It is proposed to strengthen research and increase exploration investment in shale gas.The shale and mudstone in the lower sequences in South China and those in the Mesozoic in North China have relatively large potential for shale gas exploration.It is proposed to perform gas testing or production test in the favorable intervals selected through reviewing old wells,so as to open a new stage of shale gas exploration through fanning out from point to area.