China's CBM Problems Likely to Spark Hunt for More Imports

摘要

China's unconventional gas production has always been a wildcard when it comes to gauging the country's appetite for more pipeline gas and LNG imports. And with coalbed methane (CBM) producers continuing to face above- and below-ground problems after more than a decade of development, it looks as if imports will have to increase. WGI understands that state PetroChina is suspending its biggest CBM drilling campaign for 2,000 production wells in the Qingshui Basin in Shanxi and Ordos Basin in Shaanxi because of complex geology and limited lifting technology, making it almost impossible for the company, or the country, to meet CBM production targets. Insiders say the state giant apparently underestimated the complexities of mass CBM drilling techniques compared with conventional gas.