China wants to replicate the American shale gas boom and use shale gas as a “bridge fuel” in its transition towards an energy system largely based on renewables. The Beijing based Rock Environment & Energy Institute (REEI) takes a look at the challenges with this approach. China possesses up to 36 trillion cubic meters exploratory reserve and holds one of the largest reserves in the world. In March 2012, the Chinese government issued the “Shale Gas Development Plan (2012-2015)”, in which the output goal of 6.5 billion cubic meters by 2015 was envisioned, and 60-100 billion cubic meters by 2020. The Chinese government thinks highly about shale gas and considers it a bridge fuel to restructure the energy mix and to reduce the share of coal, believing that it is feasible to develop shale gas vigorously by copying the assumed successful lessons from the American shale gas boom. However, achieving this strategy will face the following two challenges. Challenge 1: Shale gas development in China is still in its infancy According to BP’s Statistical Review of World Energy 2015, China’s consumption of primary … Continue reading The “Chinese Dream” of Shale Gas as a Bridge Fuel