Halliburton tests the China shale waters

Halliburton has indicated that it is continuing to evaluate its role in China shales in a recent South China Morning Post article.  Thus far, Halliburton has been the least prominent of the major service companies in the China shale arena.  They were notably not present at the recent IPTC convention in Beijing this past March. The South China Morning Post interview with Lamar Duhon, vice-president of business development in Asia, did not say much about their long term plans other than that "Halliburton Read more [...]

Update: Honghua at OTC 2013

Honghua will be showcasing some of its shale gas technology at the Offshore technology conference this year in Houston, reports Business Wire.  Honghua has made news lately for partnering with Baker Hughes and Shenhua in separate deals to develop shale gas in China. I plan to update this post after I attend their booth and speak with a few of their folks. The Honghua exhibit was a sight at the OTC.  On par with the best as far as eye catching and feeling modern.  They had a 3D display Read more [...]

In the news

Since there has been a lack of official news to report in the past few weeks I thought I would link to a few articles that give their opinions about China shale and its future, impact or issues.  I have only posted four because you will get the general idea rather quickly. Could fracking solve China's energy problems?- The Week China's shale development faces obstacles- UPI China struggles to tap its shale gas- The Washington Post China's shale gas plans debated- SinoShip     Read more [...]

Shell gets PSC approval

Last month Shell gained approval from the Chinese government to move forward with their development of the Fushun-Yongchuan shale block in the Sichuan province.  The signing of the Production Sharing Contract or PSC allows them to begin joint development of their shale block with CNPC. This is a major milestone for any oil and gas joint venture in China.  It is the actual agreement to do long term business together on a project.  The Joint Study Agreement or JSA is the initial agreement to Read more [...]

Eni & PetroChina sign JSA to explore Sichuan shale gas block

ENI announced that is has signed a Joint Study Agreement with PetroChina to devleop the Rongchang shale block in the Sichuan province.  This shale gas block covers ~2,000 square kilimeters.  According to the news release, "This area, closely located to the main consumption markets in China, has already been de-risked by research activities and production tests carried out in nearby blocks and has proven to be the most promising in the country to date." Read more [...]

Shell on the cusp of major shale advancements in China

Shell recently announced that they may be less than two years away from making a final investment decision on their shale play in the Sichuan province of China.  They are on track with their commitment to spend $1 billion USD a year in China, with a total of $2 billion spent by year end 2013.  They have drilled almost 30 wells in the Fushun-Yongchuan shale gas block and have started to commercially produce a small amount According to the Rigzone report "China's government has not yet given Read more [...]

Conoco inks another shale deal

ConocoPhillips and PetroChina announced a Joint Study Agreement to identify unconventional resources in the Sichuan province.  The deal also allows PetroChina to acquire two Western Australian exploration assets. This is the second shale exploration deal Conoco has announced in the past three months.  In December of 2012 they announced a deal with Sinopec to drill two wells in another Sichuan block. The most recent JSA as laid out in a Rigzone article is to "study the potential for unconventional Read more [...]

The Honghua-Shenhua China shale Joint Venture

The Shenhua Group, who's subsidiary won an exploration block in Hunan province in China's most recent shale auction,  has entered a joint venture with the Honghua Group. This recent block will add to thier agreement they have with the government of Guizhou inked in November of 2012 to invest $8 billion USD by 2020 in the province. According to another insigthful Du Juan article on China daily, "The long-term cooperation covers research, consultancy, equipment and exploitation of the Read more [...]