Dutch major Shell is planning to develop China's enormous shale gas resources through key partnerships.
As Chinese majors continue to look abroad to secure the nation's energy future, Royal Dutch Shell has announced a plan to spend $1bn to exploit China's potentially vast resources of shale gas. The investment is part of the major's aggressive expansion strategy in the world's biggest energy market.
When asked if the firm remained committed to its investment, Lim Haw Kuang, 34 year Shell veteran and top China executive, replied: “Yes, yes and yes”. He confirmed that “if there has been an adjustment to that pledge, it could only be an upward revision.” On top of the $1bn, Shell will build a petrochemical and refinery project in Eastern China, worth a massive $12.6bn.
Shell has forged strong allegiences with China's top firms: CNPC - through subsidiary PetroChina - and CNOOC, with whom it hopes to develop the Taizhou shale project. The world's second-largest company by revenue has also aligned itself with Sinopec and PetroChina in international projects in Qatar and West Africa.