BP of UK on Thursday signed a production sharing contract with China National Petroleum Corporation (CNPC) for shale gas exploration, development and production in the Neijiang-Dazu block in the Sichuan Basin.
BP Group Chief Executive Bob Dudley said the two companies will work together on technology, operational and subsurface techniques in unconventional resources.
According to BP’s statement,BP said it is the first PSC the company signed in China and covers an area of approximately 1,500 square kilometres with CNPC being the operator of the project.
Additionally, the PSC is the first achievement from BP and CNPC’s framework agreement on strategic cooperation that was signed last October.
Under the framework agreement, BP and CNPC intend to cooperate in the fields of fuel retailing in China, exploration of oil and LNG opportunities globally.
As BP predicts in its newest energy outlook, by 2035, shale gas is expected to account for a quarter of total gas produced globally.