Shale gas resources are abundant in China, with low proven rate and great potential. China is also ushering in the shale gas revolution, becoming the third country after the United States and Canada to have the ability to commercialize the development of shale gas. In order to speed up the pace of shale gas revolution in China and usher in shale oil revolution as soon as possible, it is necessary to further strengthen the close cooperation between industry, University and research in China.

Recently, Fuling Shale Gas Field, the first large-scale shale gas field in China, has produced more than 20 billion cubic meters of gas, providing a strong guarantee for the supply of natural gas in the central and eastern regions of China, and accelerating the development of shale gas into a large-scale commercial stage.

"Shale gas as a high-quality, efficient and clean low-carbon energy, occupies an increasingly important position in primary energy consumption." Ju Jianhua, the convener of the Ministry of Natural Resources Ministry of mineral resources protection and supervision, said.

China is rich in shale gas resources with low proven rate and huge potential. Speeding up the development of shale gas industry is of great strategic significance to improve China's energy resources security capability, optimize energy structure, improve the ecological environment, and build a clean, low-carbon, safe and efficient energy system.

Especially the symbolic development of Fuling shale gas industry reflects the independent innovation power of China's shale gas industry, and has become the birthplace of many demonstration projects, the forerunner of strategic adjustment, and the creator of domestic and foreign records. The proven reserves alone have risen to more than 60 billion cubic metres, and production capacity in the first half of 2018 has reached nearly 3 billion cubic metres.

According to the U.S. Energy Intelligence Agency, China has more shale gas reserves than any other country, with 1,275 trillion cubic feet of recoverable reserves. According to the current consumption level, these reserves are sufficient for China to use for more than 300 years.

This data is not deliberately exaggerated. In 2017, many media reported that the 12th Five-Year Plan for shale gas development led by the State Energy Administration proposed that China's shale gas production would reach 6.5 billion cubic meters by 2015 and 80 billion cubic meters by 2020. Such data means that shale gas exploration will rapidly increase.

Industry analysts believe that as shale gas becomes an independent mineral, strong downstream demand and rising product prices will drive the rapid development of the shale gas industry, and may even be expected to repeat the explosion in shale gas development that has turned the United States from a natural gas importer to a net exporter. This means that China's shale gas does have broad industrial growth space.

Jin Zhijun, Deputy geologist and President of the Institute of Petroleum Exploration and Development of Sinopec, also pointed out that the shale revolution in the United States had succeeded and had a wide impact on the world. China was also ushering in the shale gas revolution, becoming the third country after the United States and Canada with the ability to commercialize the development of shale gas, but China's shale. The oil revolution is far from coming.

It is noteworthy that China has enormous potential for shale oil resources, but the exploration and development of shale oil is full of challenges. Further studies are needed in the enrichment mechanism, distribution law, dessert prediction and low cost development of continental shale oil. In order to speed up the pace of shale gas revolution in China and usher in shale oil revolution as soon as possible, it is necessary to further strengthen the close cooperation between industry, University and research in China.