The wells tend to generate 20% annual returns on capital invested, he said, but they also tend to decline at rates up to 80% in the first 18 months, meaning companies that want to show an increase in production must roll the cash flow into an expanding number of wells to stay ahead of the decline.

FORBES: The Best Thing About Shale Gas: We Know Where It Is

He scours Asia for enterprises that sell into large and expanding markets and have high or rapidly rising returns on equity, strong free cash flow (meaning net income plus depreciation minus capital expenditures, adjusted for working capital) and a focused long-term strategy.

FORBES: Bad government, good companies