The Ministry of Land and Resources has granted access to private capital for shale gas reserves

It was learned from the Oil and Gas Center of the Ministry of Land and Resources that the Ministry of Land and Resources has formally initiated the “National Survey and Evaluation of the Potential of Shale Gas Resources and Optimization of the Favorable Areas”. It is planned to systematically evaluate the potential of land shale gas resources in China for three years.

By 2014, a group of shale gas favorable areas and exploration target areas will be submitted to solve the major geological problems and key technical methods of shale gas, and to form technical standards and specifications for shale gas resources.

“At the national level, it is the first time to carry out shale gas resource strategic investigations and pilot tests,” said Zhang Dawei, deputy director of the Oil and Gas Center of the Ministry of Land and Resources.

At present, the Ministry of Land and Resources and the National Energy Administration are organizing the preparation of shale gas special development plans to study and formulate relevant policies. The industry estimates that by 2020 shale gas production may be 8%-12% of the country's conventional natural gas production.

In 2010, the Ministry of Land and Resources initiated pioneering experimental work in five key target areas in southern Sichuan, southeastern Sichuan, northern Hebei, southeast Yunnan, and northeastern Yunnan. A total of 20 favorable shale gas enrichment areas were selected, with an estimated total resources of 8.50 trillion yuan. -14.72 trillion cubic meters.

In 2011, the country was divided into five regions: the Upper Yangtze and the Yunnan-Guizhou area, the middle and lower Yangtze area and the southeastern area, the North and Northeast areas, the Northwest area, and the Qinghai-Tibet area. In the entire country, the overall shale gas resource potential in China was overall Evaluation.

Zhang Mingsen, deputy chief engineer of the Sinopec Beijing Research Institute of Chemical Industry, said: “Shale gas may become an important continuation resource for China in the future, and it can be used for 100 or 200 years. If this prediction is realized, there will be a major shift in the domestic energy supply pattern. ”

Private capital was allowed to enter world shale gas development enthusiasm, originated from the United States "natural gas**."

In recent years, the United States has made breakthrough progress in the field of shale gas exploration and development, and has begun large-scale industrial shale gas extraction in the country. In 2010 shale gas production reached 100 billion cubic meters, and the proportion of natural gas production reached 15% will reach 45% in 2035.

“The commercial development of shale gas in the United States depends on four major conditions: mature technology development, clear shale gas proven reserves, complete oil and gas pipeline facilities, and diversified investment mechanisms.” Zhang Dawei said.

At present, domestic shale gas has not yet been commercialized. Shale gas wells are mostly exploration wells and have not yet produced gas. Statistics show that in 2010 there were only a dozen shale gas wells in the country, which is in stark contrast to the development speed and scale of shale gas in the United States. There are currently more than 10,000 shale gas wells in the United States.

In the process of shale gas development in the United States, many small companies are involved in pre-development. When the project progresses to a certain scale, it is then purchased by large companies to carry out scale construction. There are currently more than 10,000 oil companies in the United States that are engaged in shale gas development. These small companies continue to innovate in technology and become the main driving force for the rapid development of shale gas technology in the United States.

Drawing on U.S. development experience, domestic shale gas development needs to break monopoly and innovate mining rights management system.

According to sources from the Ministry of Land and Resources, tenders for eight blocks of domestic shale gas are expected to start in the second quarter. According to the current thinking, the enterprises participating in the bidding are not only PetroChina, Sinopec, CNOOC, and Yanchang Petroleum's four major state-owned oil companies, but also the “admission ticket” for private capital.

According to the thinking of the Ministry of Land and Resources, it was initially determined that companies such as Sinochem Group Corporation, Xinjiang Guanghui Group and Zhenhua Petroleum Holdings Co., Ltd. could be allowed to participate in bidding. This means that domestic oil and gas production will break the monopoly for the first time, and private enterprises will have the opportunity to enter the shale gas field and share the oil and gas feast.

According to industry analysts, shale gas development is still blank and has not yet become a key development area for state-owned oil companies. It is conditional on opening up mining rights and encouraging the entry of social capital so as to achieve scale development at an early date.

Technology into the biggest bottleneck Domestic shale gas development technology has not yet been broken. This is the biggest concern of Zhang Dawei and Zhang Mingsen.

Shale gas is stored in tight rock formations, with low porosity, low permeability, large air flow resistance, etc., and its exploitation is quite difficult. Shale gas development not only requires advanced exploration drilling techniques, such as directional drilling techniques such as inclined wells, horizontal wells, and annular horizontal wells, but also requires major breakthroughs in the subterranean formation fracturing.

Zhang Mingsen said: "At present, the biggest difficulty in the development of shale gas is the fracturing technology of rock formations, which has not yet been broken in China. The state should allocate special funds to support state-owned and private oil companies to carry out technological research and strive to make breakthroughs in a short period of time. Rock gas development technology.

Under the premise that domestic technologies are not yet mature, domestic oil companies have adopted more cooperation with foreign oil companies to develop technologies for resource replacement.

Zhang Mingsen said: "This approach is not entirely desirable. First, the United States shale gas extraction technology is confidential and does not apply even for patents, and it is completely monopolized by the hands of a few companies. Second, shale gas reserves in the country are not yet available. Under a clear premise, adopting this type of cooperation will likely result in relatively large resource losses. Domestic shale gas development must be free from technical dependence, start with basic technology research, and strive to break the technological bottleneck in the short term.”

According to our understanding, the State Council has issued relevant instructions on shale gas for scientific and technological breakthroughs. In addition to grants to the National Development and Reform Commission, the National Energy Administration, and the Ministry of Land and Resources, it has also been specifically forwarded to the Ministry of Science and Technology for the purpose of strengthening unconventional oil and gas such as shale gas. Scientific and technological research.