- China National Petroleum (PTR +2.3%) and Sinopec (SNP +3.8%) are speeding up drilling and exploration from major tight and shale oil and gas formations in the country’s western regions to increase domestic production, Reuters reports.
- New exploration in shale gas, tight oil and tight gas will lead to growth in production, CNPC says in its official newspaper, adding that the drilling cycle at the Mahu field in Xinjiang, one of the group's largest findings in recent years, fell 40% from a year ago, implying that oil wells are being completed and produced at a faster rate.
- SNP says in its own publication that it plans to tap 66 new natural gas wells and install 23 gas drilling stations during winter to increase supplies from its fields in southwestern China.