Breitling eying China shale gas

Breitling Oil & Gas is in talks with a Chinese oil company on joint exploration of shale gas in China, some media reports said.

The company is interested in any shale gas asset it can acquire in an auction this month of shale gas blocks in China. It may be a minority stake, about 25%.

Foreign players are barred from shale gas auction and can come through joint ventures.

Estimates suggest that China’s shale gas reserves  are larger than that of US but meaningful shale gas output will take time as players need to gather geological data and gain practical drilling experience.