CCTV9英语新闻：China has estimated 25 tln cubic meters of shale gas resources（在线收听）

Will shale gas be able to quench the energy thirst of the world's second largest economy? According to the Geological Survey of China, it may be too early to tell, but a plan is certainly now in motion. The newly released China Shale Gas Resources Survey says shale gas exploration will be a key part of China's energy efforts in 2015, and 680 million yuan will be invested into shale gas exploration and development this year alone. Now for more on this, we are joined in the studio by our reporter Wu Haojun. 

Q1: Tell us more about China's big plan for shale gas.

A: China's plan for shale gas exploration and development is certainly ambitious. But it's also very much founded in reality. According to the survey, China has an estimated 25 trillion cubic meters of technically recoverable shale gas resources. Let's put that number into context here. The United States, the country that has spearheaded the world's shale gas exploration and development, has just under 19 trillion cubic meters of usable shale gas resources. So the potential is certainly there for China, but how exactly will the country go about realizing the the goal of producing 30 billion cubic meters of shale gas by 2020? 

With one of the largest reserves in the world, China is ready to tap into shale gas. And in 2015, another big step forward.

China's state-owned Sinopec started up a dedicated pipeline that will connect a major shale gas block in Sichuan to its East China pipeline network. 

"We produce 20 to 40 cubic meters of shale gas every day. That meets just about 50 thousand household's energy demand for one day," said Ouyang Liming, engineer of Jianghan Oilfield 2nd Shale Gas Platform.

The plan is to start small and gradually go big. But shale gas is a tough business, especially on the technology front, being a late-comer in the field, both indigenous R&D and international cooperation are a must. 

As we speak, there are more than 20 Chinese enterprises engaged in shale gas exploration and development, with big SOEs like PetroChina, Sinopec and CNOOC taking the lead. They've also been cooperating with and learning from foriegn companies in the process," said Zhai Gangyi, deputy director of Oil & Gas Resources Survey Center.

International powerhouses are scrambling for a piece of the Chinese market. But China also has its own plans. It's increasingly looking to rely less on foreign technologies and more on its own R&D capacity for the future of its shale gas development. 

"The US is the first country in the world to utilize shale gas. Now it has a annual production of 300 billion cubic meters. That's changed the United States' energy structure, and maybe the world's too. China is the third country to achieve shale gas production capacity after the US and Canada," Zhai said. 

HAOJUN: There's no doubt that China wants shale gas, and much more of it in the future. The government essentially wants to kill two birds with one stone, on the one hand, shale gas can help China rely less on energy imports, and on the other, it can lead to a cleaner environment. 

Q2: Besides the issue of technology, what are some of the other key challenges for China's shale gas exploration and development efforts?

A: Well, the issue of technology seems to be an easier part of the equation, compared to the two other major challenges. First of all, unlike much of US shale gas, which is found in the flatlands of North Dakota and Texas, China's shale basins are located in mountainous and difficult terrain. That makes large-scale drilling and the building of infrastructure, such as piplelines, highly challenging. Another constraint is less obvious but equally important... the lack of water. Drilling and fracking are very water consuming, and suck up 19 thousand tons of water per well in the US, a country with an abundant supply of freshwater resources. But here in China,  even in the relatively water rich Sichuan, water resources account for just over 3 thousand square meters per capita a year, that's less than one fifth of the U-S figure. That's also why Chinese and foreign companies are in a race to develop cutting edge water saving, and even water free fracking technologies, especially for the Chinese market.