Bloomberg: PetroChina on Course to Beat 2015 Sichuan Shale Output Target

PetroChina Co., the country’s biggest oil and gas producer, is on course to surpass a 2.6 billion cubic meter target for shale gas production in 2015 from fields in the southwest province of Sichuan.

“Based on the production of our test wells, we are very confident to achieve or even beat our estimates for 2015,” Xie Jun, deputy general manager of unit Southwest Oil & Gasfield Co., said last week at the provincial capital Chengdu. The estimate is “very conservative” and newer technology may push the number much higher, he said.

PetroChina’s success in drilling for shale gas is good news for China, which is seeking to replicate the boom in the U.S. China’s hopes have rested on China Petroleum & Chemical Corp., known as Sinopec, which operates the nation’s largest shale-producing project in Fuling. The country halved its target of producing 60 billion cubic meters by 2020 because of geological challenges. MORE