Shale exploration 'making great strides'

China has made great progress in shale gas exploration with about 400 wells drilled as of July, and production this year is estimated at 1.5 billion cubic meters, experts said on Wednesday.

As of July, about 20 billion yuan ($3.2 billion) had been invested to find and develop shale gas resources, mainly in the Sichuan Basin, according to the Ministry of Land and Resources. Shale gas reserves are expected to hit 500 bcm, distributed over 170,000 square kilometers, it said.

"To accelerate shale gas exploration, the ministry is preparing for the third shale gas auction and encouraging more private investors to enter the field," Che Changbo, deputy director of the ministry's geological exploration department, said at a news conference in Beijing.