ARTYKUŁY NAUKOWE Shale gas in China – how much and when?
Abstract
Gaz z łupków w Chinach – ile i kiedy?
A b s t r a c t. China is ranked as the world’s largest resource-holder of unconventional gas (estimated at about 25–31 trillion cubic meters – tcm), and current production is 1.3 billion cubic meters (bcm). Also other unconventional resources(tight gas, CBM) are large in global standards. There are strong energy security reasons in China – a long run strategy for China is to reduce its dependency on imported gas resources, thus the growth of domestic output of unconventional gas production (coal bed methane, tight and in particular shale gas) has been recognized as very important both by the government, giving significant impetus to the development of shale gas extraction. However, significant uncertainties remain about the extent to which this resource will be developed as aspects of China’s geology and the structure of the gas sector (in terms of pricing as well as access to water and pipelines) and population density, possess significant problems. A key role in Chinese unconventional hydrocarbons exploration is played by large Chinese national oil companies. The most productive shales are Lower Paleozoic marine strata in South China, in particular the organic-rich Lower Silurian Longmaxi Formation in the upper Yangtze region, characterized also by wide distribution, large thickness and generally fairly good other properties. Both subsurface geological and surface conditions of major shale gas plays in China are more complex than those in USA. Concerning geology, many shale gas plays in China are faulted and sometimes cross-cut by tectonically active zones – however, in some best productive zones tectonics improves conductivity of reservoirs. Number of Chinese shale plays (particularly those of lacustrine origin, representing a large share of Chinese resources) contain clay rich formations, which impairs effectiveness of hydraulic fracturing. Concerning environmental issues, China decided to go for a practice-oriented approach and no specific regulations for unconventional hydrocarbons currently exist in China, only some – pre-during and – post-operation recommendations are discussed. Interestingly, in many aspects unconventional hydrocarbon exploration in China show more similarities to the situation in Poland than to USA and bilateral cooperation may be fruitful for both sides.
A b s t r a c t. China is ranked as the world’s largest resource-holder of unconventional gas (estimated at about 25–31 trillion cubic meters – tcm), and current production is 1.3 billion cubic meters (bcm). Also other unconventional resources(tight gas, CBM) are large in global standards. There are strong energy security reasons in China – a long run strategy for China is to reduce its dependency on imported gas resources, thus the growth of domestic output of unconventional gas production (coal bed methane, tight and in particular shale gas) has been recognized as very important both by the government, giving significant impetus to the development of shale gas extraction. However, significant uncertainties remain about the extent to which this resource will be developed as aspects of China’s geology and the structure of the gas sector (in terms of pricing as well as access to water and pipelines) and population density, possess significant problems. A key role in Chinese unconventional hydrocarbons exploration is played by large Chinese national oil companies. The most productive shales are Lower Paleozoic marine strata in South China, in particular the organic-rich Lower Silurian Longmaxi Formation in the upper Yangtze region, characterized also by wide distribution, large thickness and generally fairly good other properties. Both subsurface geological and surface conditions of major shale gas plays in China are more complex than those in USA. Concerning geology, many shale gas plays in China are faulted and sometimes cross-cut by tectonically active zones – however, in some best productive zones tectonics improves conductivity of reservoirs. Number of Chinese shale plays (particularly those of lacustrine origin, representing a large share of Chinese resources) contain clay rich formations, which impairs effectiveness of hydraulic fracturing. Concerning environmental issues, China decided to go for a practice-oriented approach and no specific regulations for unconventional hydrocarbons currently exist in China, only some – pre-during and – post-operation recommendations are discussed. Interestingly, in many aspects unconventional hydrocarbon exploration in China show more similarities to the situation in Poland than to USA and bilateral cooperation may be fruitful for both sides.