But China likely has even more shale gas potential than the U.S., with the U.S. Energy Information Administration figuring on 1, 250 trillion cubic feet of recoverable shale gas in China.
In February, the heads of China's three state-controlled oil and gas majors -- China National Petroleum Corp (CNPC), Sinopec and China National Offshore Oil Corp (CNOOC) -- met one of Russia's most influential players in the energy sector, Igor Sechin, chief executive of state-owned oil company Rosneft.
By 2030, the US will depend more on gas than on oil. while China is growing its use of natural gas from 130 billion cubic metres last year to 545 bcm in 2035.
Moscow has had agreements with Beijing to build a gas pipeline into China since 2002, but the two sides have been haggling ever since over the price of the gas supplies.
Shell signed the first production-sharing contract to explore, develop and produce shale gas in China.
As far as China is concerned, gas will be spot based, and it will be cheap.
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China believes in natural gas, clean coal and, most of all, nuclear power.
"He did mention to me his desire to raise the awareness of shale gas in China, " says Mr. Ershaghi.
Most of China's shale gas resources are in the Sichuan and Tarim basins.
Other foreign firms that have signed agreements to look for shale gas in China include BP, Chevron and French company Total.
China believes in natural gas, clean coal and, most of all, nuclear.
Royal Dutch Shell said it has signed its first-ever production sharing contract for shale gas in China with state-owned China National Petroleum Corporation (CNPC).
Gazprom is no longer interested or capable of doing this deal, but the Russian government has always been in control since nobody is exporting gas to China without its approval.
Shale gas is also prevalent in China, Argentina and the U.K. With abundant natural gas, Canada is planning to ship LNG to Asia, and the U.S. is likely to retool import terminals to export LNG.
China recently completed a 1, 100-mile gas pipeline to connect its factories and power plants to the vast gas reserves of Central Asia, part of China's stiff competition with Europe over a key energy source.
The Ministry of Land and Resources said Sunday that China will strengthen the survey and appraisal of shale gas in 2012 to expedite discovery and development of China shale deposits.
Still, Jereh has about half the market share for shale gas equipment in China.
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Mr. Fu, for his part, appears eager for Sinopec to step up shale-gas exploration in China.
Putin promised to expand Russian energy supplies to China by opening a natural gas pipeline within five years.
Shell said it may be less than two years away from a major advance in shale-gas production in China.
Shell is also one of the companies looking at shale-gas reserves in China, which may be the largest on the planet.
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No specific date has been reported for when Turkmenistan aims to have natural gas exports to China reach 60 bcm per year.
Add to this a proposed pipeline to carry Turkmen gas to eastern China, and Central Asia could be fuelling China's economy soon.
Other global oil companies are involved in shale gas exploration in China.
ConocoPhillips is considering expanding its China portfolio to include shale gas.
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China had no commercial shale gas production in 2011, but has set itself an ambitious target of producing 229.5 billion cubic feet of shale gas a year by 2015.
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Commonwealth leaders met days after pledges by the US and China to limit their greenhouse gas emissions, amid concerns that December's Copenhagen meeting on climate change could fail to agree substantial cuts.
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