Sinopec’s Fuling shale gas field, the first large-scale commercial shale gas field in China. [Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn]

CHONGQING — The Fuling shale gas field in Southwest China’s Chongqing municipality has put 19 new wells into operation this year, increasing the daily gas output by 1.06 million cubic meters, said its developer Sinopec, China’s largest oil refiner.

Shale gas is mainly methane. It is considered a clean and new energy resource.

The Fuling gas field, which entered commercial development in 2014, produces over 20 million cubic meters of shale gas per day.

In 2021, the gas field produced over 7.16 billion cubic meters of gas, delivering clean energy to more than 70 cities along the Yangtze River Economic Belt.

This year, this gas field has produced more than 1 billion cubic meters of gas.