Sinopec to Increase Gas Supplies

China’s Sinopec plans to ramp up natural gas supplies by 1.8 billion cubic meters this winter to meet rising demand, the company told Reuters on Friday. Gas supplies for the winter of 2018 will be up 11% from the 15.1 bcm Sinopec provided last winter, according to Reuters calculations based on company data. "New supplies are mainly supported by the opening of the Tianjin receiving terminal and more production from domestic gas fields," said Michael Mao, gas analyst with consultancy Sublime China. "The company has also made new advances in its shale gas business, with a new discovery in the Weirong block in southwestern Sichuan Province," said Sun Huanquan, general manager of the group’s oilfield development division. Sun did not elaborate on the new find, but said it should contribute to the group’s target of 10 bcm of shale gas production by 2020. Sinopec operates China’s largest commercial shale gas field, Fuling in Chongqing in the southwest, and produced just above 6 bcm last year.