In China, an Opportunity for More Progress in Shale Gas Extraction

Now that China's Shaanxi Yanchang Petroleum has bought Canada's Novus Energy, Beijing has taken one step closer to its still-distant goal of large-scale, commercialized shale gas extraction. Although Novus is a relatively small company, it specializes in hydraulic fracturing and horizontal drilling, which it used to exploit reserves outside Canada's massive oil sand deposits. Shaanxi will familiarize itself with these extraction methods, but though its newfound expertise eventually will help it perfect its techniques, China is still years away from being able to produce as much shale gas as it would like.