CHINA'S FULING HELD SHALEGAS

摘要

At the 7th Unconventional Hydrocarbon summit held in Beijing in late May, several speakers expressed the sentiment that China, and its state-backed giants, Sinopec and PetroChina, have the capital structure to weather short-term losses in their quest to unlock the country's vast shale resources. Senior Chinese government officials and energy industry executives voiced in several forums that they are committed to the long-term development of shale resources. Put aptly by an executive at the conference: "The free market mindset is so engrained in how we think in the West; if it doesn't make money ... it doesn't make sense." But Chinese companies have a completely different perspective. For them, it is an issue of national interest and not economic viability, at least in the short run.