“The field’s overall development plans have been submitted to Chinese authorities for approval. Getting the green light should pave the way for [us] to start developing the field,” Shell exploration & production Asia-Pacific CEO Dominique Gardy said.
“The Changbei project has been delayed for more than three years partly due to changes in the original petroleum contract signed between Shell and PetroChina’s parent company China National Petroleum Corp in 1999. Beijing’s re-evaluation of the country’s strategic reserves in the middle of last year also stalled Changbei's progress.”
In an interview with Dow Jones Shell regional support director David Frost said Changbei was supposed to be an integrated gas project that included production, pipelines and developing gas markets in Beijing, Hebei, Shandong and Tianjin.
“But it will now be developed purely as an upstream project," Frost said.
Changbei has estimated reserves of around 70 billion cubic metres of natural gas and is expected to produce 3 billion cubic metres per annum. If the project gets the green light, Shell and PetroChina will hold equal stakes.
