BP ploughs lonely shale gas furrow in China

China is inviting foreign operators to develop its vast deposits

Given that several major international oil companies gave up on shale gas exploration in China and went elsewhere, there is a lot of interest in what BP is doing there. The company started drilling in the Neijiang-Dazu block in the southwestern province of Sichuan in September and will try its luck in early 2018 in the nearby Rong Chang Bei block. BP has moved quickly after signing a production-sharing contract last year with China National Petroleum Corporation in what looks likes a bold move following the withdrawal of Hess, Chevron, Shell and ConocoPhillips from China's shale gasfields in pursuit of more profitable plays. So far, the history of independents in China's shale gas has been u