Energy-rich Shanxi produced a total 12.72 billion cubic meters (cu.m) of unconventional natural gas in the first three quarters of 2024, up 18.2% year on year and reaching a new high for that period, according to data from the provincial bureau of statistics.

Boasting abundant unconventional natural gas resources, Shanxi has stepped up efforts to build unconventional gas bases, Xinhua News Agency reported. The province holds a predicted unconventional gas reserve of about 20 trillion cu.m, accounting for approximately 8% of China's total.

In 2023, natural gas consumption in Shanxi surpassed 10 billion cu.m for the first time, reaching 10.5 billion cu.m, with unconventional gas serving as the primary gas source for the region. After meeting local needs, roughly 3.7 billion cu.m of gas were transported to regions such as Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei and Henan.

An industrial base has taken shape in the southern part of the Qinshui Basin so far, while construction of an industrial base on the eastern edge of the Ordos Basin has accelerated, forming a diversified investment market landscape with central enterprises, alongside provincial, foreign, and private enterprises.

Moreover, Shanxi has implemented several significant projects to expedite the utilization of unconventional gas.

Unconventional natural gas includes shale gas, tight sandstone gas, and coalbed methane.

From January to September, Shanxi's coalbed methane output amounted to 10.27 billion cu.m, reaching the highest for the same period and approaching the whole-year production in 2023. The output constituted about 81.4% of the country's total in the given period, data showed.

Shanxi has an estimated coalbed methane reserve of around 8.31 trillion cu.m within a depth of 2,000 meters underground, representing one-third of the country's total reserves. The province possessed 924.24 billion cu.m of proved coalbed methane reserves by the end of 2023.