PetroChina’s Changning-Weiyuan Shale Output exceeds 2bn m³

PetroChina’s Changning-Weiyuan block in China’s Sichuan province has produced a little over 2bn m³ of shale gas this year till November 20, parent company CNPC said November 23. For the full year, the output is expected to be much higher than the 2016 target of 1.5bn m³.

Changning-Weiyuan block was designated a national demonstration zone in March 2012 by the National Development and Reform Commission. The demonstration zone was completed In January this year. The block currently has a total of 107 production wells. The total capacity of the block is 2.5bn m³.

In the past few years China has been working hard to exploit its vast shale gas reserves. According to experts, China has achieved significant level of localisation in shale gas exploration technology. CNPC and Sinopec are the two state owned firm currently dominant in the shale exploration sector. Sinopec’s Fuling shale gas field produced 4.08bn m³ of gas between January and October this year and is expected to reach the full year target of 5bn m³ soon. 

Shardul Sharma