Shale gas production in China
China’s gas goals face unconventional hurdles
Beijing’s strong emphasis on domestic production growth will require heavier investment from the country’s NOCs, as remaining reserves become harder to exploit
China’s domestic gas output will continue to grow for the rest of this decade, as the country’s energy giants eke out greater production at prolific legacy fields. But later gains could become harder to come by, as upstream development will eventually have to shift to complex frontier plays, both onshore and offshore, that are more challenging to exploit. China has managed to increase gas output by more than 10bcm/yr for the past six years, a streak the central government is keen to continue. PetroChina, Sinopec and CNOOC—which together accounted for 83% of gas produced in China in the first nine months of this year—have persistently sustained or increased domestic investment, under governme
Also in this section
17 February 2026
The 25th WPC Energy Congress, taking place in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia from 26–30 April 2026, will bring together leaders from the political, industrial, financial and technology sectors under the unifying theme “Pathways to an Energy Future for All”
17 February 2026
Siemens Energy has been active in the Kingdom for nearly a century, evolving over that time from a project-based foreign supplier to a locally operating multi-national company with its own domestic supply chain and workforce
17 February 2026
Eni’s chief operating officer for global natural resources, Guido Brusco, takes stock of the company’s key achievements over the past year, and what differentiates its strategy from those of its peers in the LNG sector and beyond
16 February 2026
As the third wave of global LNG arrives, Wood Mackenzie’s director for Europe gas and LNG, Tom Marzec-Manser, discusses with Petroleum Economist the outlook for Europe’s gas market in 2026
