Shale gas to mainstream in China

China plans to produce 6.5 billion cubic metres of shale gas.

To help attain this aim, China will offer local developers a subsidy of US$0.06 for each cubic meter of shale gas produced, or twice the subsidy offered to coalbed methane.

China is estimated to have the world's largest shale gas reserves and has been exploring for shale gas since 2009. It has not had any commercial success, however.

China believes shale gas could be a solution to its growing energy needs and reduce its reliance on expensive gas imports. It also hopes tospark a shale gas exploration boom seminar to the one that turned the USA into a gas exporter.

It is still unclear whether the country will be able to develop shale gas on a commercial scale due to immense geological and technological challenges.

China intends to produce 6.5 billion cubic metres of shale gas by 2015, or some 6% of its current total gas output. Output is targeted to reach 60-100 billion cubic metres by 2020.