China has halved its shale gas output target to 30 billion cubic meters (bcm) by 2020, sources reported, citing Wu Xinxiong, the head of China's National Energy Administration.<br /> <br /> The previous targets were more of a vague prospect, Wu said at a meeting on energy development plan for the 13th Five-Year Plan (2016-2020).<br /> <br /> In 2012, the country announced it expected to pump 60-100 bcm of shale gas by 2020, with 6.5 bcm to come on stream by 2015, according to the 12th Five Year Plan drafted by the NEA.<br /> <br /> China has been determined to make the target adjustment as early exploration efforts to unlock the unconventional fuel proved challenging, insiders said. China’s shale gas output only reached some 0.2 bcm in 2013.<br /> <br /> The new 30 bcm shale gas target would mostly be contributed by the country's top two state oil firms, PetroChina and Sinopec Corp, experts have said, as they hold the majority of the country's oil and gas blocks, as well as the expertise.<br /> <br /> China, believed to hold the world's largest technically recoverable shale resources, is hoping to replicate the shale boom that has transformed the energy landscape of the United States.<br /> <br /> About four years of early evaluations and drilling have so far yielded one large find - Fuling field - in the most prospective gas province of southwest Sichuan, but experts say the Fuling success is hard to repeat due to complex geology and high cost of production.<br /> <br /> <br /> The government's efforts, led by the Ministry of Land and Resources, to open up the shale gas sector to independent players have had small success, as the blocks the ministry has to offer are of poorer quality and would entail hefty exploration costs.<br /> <br /> China may continue to focus on tapping easier-to-unlock gas resources, such as tight gas, which the Chinese oil firms are more experienced in, to reach a government-set total gas supply target of up to 420 bcm by 2020.<br /> <br /> <p> China's tight gas output may hit 80 bcm by 2020, according to forecasts by the China Academy of Engineering, doubling its estimated output of 40 bcm in 2013. </p> <p style="text-align:center;"> <img src="/upfiles/news/image/20140811/20140811085855_3245.jpg" alt="" /> </p>