China's Shanxi Province Plans Aggressive Exploitation of its Shale Gas Reserves

Coal rich Chinese province of Shanxi is looking to extensively exploit its shale gas reserves.

Latest estimates suggest that the province has reserves of 4.44 trillion cubic meters, an official with the provincial land and resources department said Friday, reported Xinhua Finance Agency.

Further study will be carried out to select sites for commercial exploration of the new energy source, said the official.

A survey was conducted by Shanxi Coal Geological Bureau and two local energy companies starting in July 2013. The basins of Erdos and Qinshui are rich in shale gas, and the thickness and high content of organic carbon and brittle minerals are suitable for exploration, the survey has found, Xinhua Finance reported.

The province started drilling the first shale gas exploration well in Xixian County in October 2013. China has about 26 trillion cubic meters of shale gas reserves, the largest in the world.

Shanxi province is has produced more than 14 billion tons of coal over the past six decades and is also the center of China’s coal bed methane industry.