Bloomberg quoted the Ministry of Land and Resources said China Petroleum & Chemical Corp and Henan Provincial Coal Seam Gas Development and Utilization Co won rights to explore two areas in the country first auction of shale-gas blocks.

According to the statement Sinopec, as China Petroleum is known, has been initially selected to explore the Nanchuan block. Henan Coal Seam Gas is to search for shale gas at the Xiushan block.

The Energy Information Administration said China, aiming to triple the use of gas to about 10% of energy consumption by 2020 held its first shale gas auction on June 27 to accelerate development. The country may hold 1,275 trillion cubic feet of shale gas, 48% more than the US.

According to the land ministry Sinopec may invest CNY 591.1 million to explore the Nanchuan block while Henan Coal Seam Gas will spend CNY 247.6 million.

(Sourced from Bloomberg)