Bloomberg: China Seen Outspending U.S. Drillers to Chase Shale-Gas Boom

China’s effort to catch up with the U.S. in developing shale gas and become more energy independent is coming at a big cost: It’s spending four times as much developing some fields, according to a new report.

Holding the world’s biggest potential reserves of natural gas in shale rock, China will spend billions of dollars in trying to close a gap with the shale leader, which is about a decade ahead in developing the energy resource, according to a study by Bloomberg New Energy Finance released today.

The emergence of shale projects in Asia and Europe affects global gas and oil prices and is changing the energy agendas of governments from London to Beijing. In China, leaders mandated national targets for their producers such as state-owned China Petroleum & Chemical Corp., known as Sinopec.

“For the government, shale is one of the highest priorities, and Sinopec is looking to distinguish itself by making gains in shale,” Xiaolei Cao, an analyst at Bloomberg New Energy Finance, said in an interview. MORE