OREANDA-NEWS. May 20, 2014. China's Ministry of Land and Resources has estimated that the country shale gas production will reach 6.5 billion cubic meters in 2015, a significant jump from last year's 200 million cubic meters.

According to the country's 12th 5 year plan, production of the new natural gas is set to increase to 100 billion cubic meters and the ministry predicted that natural gas and oil production will each take up 50% domestically.

But the surge in production indicates a larger investment. Foreign media outlets reported that the state-owned oil giant China National Petroleum Corporation, also known as PetroChina, will spend at least CNY 10 billion in the exploitation of shale gas this year, which is more than threefold that of previous years.

In addition, China Petroleum and Chemical Corporation has invested CNY 5 billion to CNY 7 billion in the exploitation of shale gas.

Mr Sun Jian, GM of Sinopec's Jianghan oil field in central China's Hubei province, told the paper that the company spent CNY 2.5 billion before shale gas was discovered in Fuling district in southwest China's Chongqing.

Sinopec first began to exploit shale gas in Yudongnan in Chongqing from 2009, but a lack of experience in the field cost the company significantly.

An employee at the Sinopec Jianghan oil field said that with the improved technology for producing shale gas, the cost of exploitation at one gas well has decreased to CNY 86 million and the company aims to further reduce the cost to CNY 60 million.

However, some market observers expressed concern over the rapid development of shale gas production because of the out-of-date infrastructure, the insufficient evaluation of environmental protection and the relatively weak support from government policies.

Citing a government official, the paper said that shale gas exploitation in the United States was developed step by step and China must be patient and should not set the bar so high.