Houston Business Journal: China opens shale gas auction, but barriers remain

About a year ago, I asked several folks in Houston to predict the next big play for shale. They gave me a resounding answer of China, and here we are at the precipice of that nation’s auction of almost two dozen assets.

Takers from Houston’s vast energy industry probably won’t be hard to find, but the road ahead may have a curve or two. The Wall Street Journal has reported that Mark Nelson, ConocoPhillips’ vice president of commercial and sustainable development, said during a recent U.S.-China Oil & Gas Industry Forum in San Antonio that the Houston-based oil giant ...  MORE (subscription required)