Xinhua recently reported that shale gas was a hot topic at the Chinese government sponsored high profile forum – the Boao Forum. The U.S. success story of the “Shale Gas Revolution” demonstrated how the United States could rapidly get very close to energy self-sufficiency. In 2011, China surpassed the U.S. to become the world’s largest energy consumer. China is eager to “copy” the success. Multiple parties attending the Boao Forum expressed strong interest in taking this agenda further, including representatives from the U.S. State Department and Department of Energy, U.S. banks such as Merrill Lynch, U.S. energy companies, China’s central government, and both Chinese state-owned and private energy companies. However technical difficulties that are specific to China were also discussed. The United States is currently the largest controller of shale gas development related technologies. The Chinese government has already put out invitations for possible bidders for shale gas exploration rights in China.
Source: Xinhua, April 7, 2013
http://news.xinhuanet.com/fortune/2013-04/07/c_124544812.htm