Exploration deadline looms for China shale novices
Sinopec shale rigs. Beijing is leaning heavily on the company to hit national shale output targets. (Sinopec)
Companies that won acreage in China’s second shale gas licensing round are facing penalties from the Ministry of Land and Resources (MLR) for failing to meet pledges made when they secured the blocks.
The MLR awarded 19 blocks to 16 different companies with little-to-no upstream experience in January 2013, granting them a three-year exploration period. But a lack of progress later prompted the ministry to extend the time allowed for exploration, slated to end in January 2016, by around six months.