Chongqing shale output exceeds 20bcm as development picks up

China’s first large-scale shale gas field saw its aggregate output surpass 20 billion cubic meters (bcm) of the unconventional gas as of Saturday, China Media Group (CMG) reported on Sunday.

The benchmark event signals China’s shale gas exploration has entered the phase of faster, largescale commercialized development of the clean energy, according to the CMG report.

The Fuling shale gas facility in Southwest China’s Chongqing Municipality was built starting in December 2012 and it has provided part of the gas supply needed by six provinces and two cities located in Central and East China.

Its current daily output could coverage natural gas demand for 32 million residential households.

The gas field has a proven reserve of 600.8 bcm and is the world’s largest shale gas field outside of North America, according to CMG.

According to a national shale gas development plan issued by the National Energy Administration in 2016, the country is planning to achieve output of 30 bcm by 2020 and 100 bcm by 2030.

Natural gas production has gained more attention as China shifts toward cleaner fuel amid a broad environmental campaign and a winter shortage in 2017, in which some provincial regions experienced shortages.

In the first half of this year, natural gas consumption rose by 17.5 percent year-on-year, according to the report.