OREANDA-NEWS.  August 27, 2013. Sinochem Petroleum Exploration & Production Co., Ltd. (Sinochem E&P for short), a company held by Sinochem Group, obtained Qualification for Gaseous Mineral Exploration (B-level) from Beijing Municipal Bureau of Land and Resources.

This milestone event laid down a solid basis for Sinochem E&P to march into domestic shale gas sector and expand its business scope within the nation.

As natural gas is acclaimed as one kind of high quality, efficient, clean and low carbon resource, to accelerate the development of natural gas industry, and improve the consumption ratio of natural gas to primary energy in the nation are of great strategic significance to adjust energy structure, improve people’s  livelihood, promote energy-saving and emission reduction and address climate change. “Attaching great importance to developing natural gas”, which is abundant in the nation with great exploitation potential, has been made clear as one of the key tasks for energy development during the 12th Five Year Plan Period.

In May, Sinochem Petroleum USA LLC, a subsidiary of Sinochem E&P, closed its transaction with Pioneer Natural Resources, to acquire 40% of equities in approximately 207,000 net acres of Wolfcamp Shale Zone. The production of the area is approaching 10,000 barrels oil equivalent per day. Through this transaction, Sinochem Group has not only acquired quality shale oil assets in the USA, but gained first-hand knowledge and relevant experiences on the development of unconventional oil & gas assets.