Taiwan to Get US Shale Gas by 2017

Taiwan is expected to begin importing American shale gas by 2017, Chinese newspaper Commercial Times reported Thursday.

A total of 800,000 tons of shale gas will be imported to Taiwan every year from 2017, said Lin Sheng-chung, president of the state-run oil and gas company CPC Corporation.

In addition, CPC is also negotiating with Exxon Mobil, Shell, Chevron and Petronas on a plan to develop shale gas in North America, Commercial Times added.

The Taiwanese company is likely to invest total of $1 billion in a project it will own an approximately 5% stake, the newspaper said.

Lin said the initial shale gas to be imported will be shipped from the state of Louisiana.

Future products from the potential North America project, however, will be shipped from the closest ports on the Pacific coast, which would save at least two weeks in transportation time, Commercial Times said.

"Prices for natural gas go up and down every now and then. US gas is a lot cheaper than from the Middle East so this could be a good deal," Lin said.

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