Xinhua Finance Agency: Shale Gas Industry on the Rise in China

China has recently made breakthroughs in shale gas exploration, both in capacity and drilling techniques, as the country moves to adjust its energy structure from its reliance on coal, which has been blamed for the foul air.

Sinopec, China's largest oil refiner, announced on Tuesday that its Fuling shale gas project in southwestern Chongqing Municipality achieved annual production capacity of 5 billion cubic meters. This makes China one of the world's biggest shale gas developers, second only to the United States.

The new energy is transferred to eastern areas like Shanghai, while also powering the middle and southern parts of China via Sinopec's pipelines. In the mountains of Chongqing's Fuling District, 253 tall drilling wells are working day and night over an area of more than 220 square km, with 174 wells constantly transferring shale gas across China. MORE