The National Development and Reform Commission, China’s Ministry of Finance, the Ministry of Land and Resources (MLR), and the National Agency of Energy on March 13, 2012 jointly published the first five-year plan for development of shale gas in China for 2011–2015.

Production targets are ambitious and emphasize the need for foreign cooperation, particularly in technology, to allow the growth of this economic sector.

China’s resources are estimated at 134,420 billion cubic meters gas reserves, with an estimated 25,000 billion cubic meters of exploitable shale (for reference, U.S. reserves are estimated at 13,600 billion). China has one of the largest shale gas reserves in the world.