Argentina and China are continuing to lead the global hunt for shale gas as countries outside of the US chase new oil and gas resources, according to a report by the US Energy Information Administration.
As recently as last year, only the US, Canada, Argentina and China were commercially producing either shale oil or shale gas, others have explored resources but none are at a commercial stage according to the EIA.
In the last two years, China has drilled over 200 wells and Argentina has drilled nearly 300 wells. The EIA has forecast that both countries have the “potential to significantly increase production of shale gas and tight oil“.
Argentine national energy company YPF reported production in April 2015 of 22,900 barrels per day of oil and 67 million cubic feet per day of natural gas from three of its joint ventures in the Vaca Muerta.
YPF has also recently signed a memorandum of understanding with Gazprom and Sinopec to develop resources in the region.
Much of the progress in China is being led by Sinopec and PetroChina; according to the Ministry of Land and Resources the two companies are on course to produce 600 million cubic feet of gas per day by the end of 2015.
CNPC has drilled 125 shale gas wells, with 60% of those in production, whilst Sinopec has completed 75 test wells, with plans to drill a further 253 wells.
Aside from Argentina and China, the EIA has highlighted activity in Poland, Algeria, Australia, Colombia and Russia, drawing particular focus on Mexico which has signed agreements with Texas to expand a pipeline network and tap into the Mexican portion of the Eagle Ford shale play.
Pemex has drilled 13 wells, 10 of which have been proved to be commercially viable, flowing between 2 million and 11 million cubic feet of gas per day in initial output.