(Yicai Global) April 15 -- State-owned China Petrochemical, one of China’s leading energy firms and better known as Sinopec, has begun constructing the second stage of the country’s first deep shale gas field.

The Weirong gas field in Sichuan province will be able to produce 3 million cubic meters of gas each year, the equivalent to the annual needs of about 16 million households, once complete, the firm said yesterday. It is already drilling at 46 of the first stage’s 54 wells and producing nearly 1.1 million cubic meters a day.

At 3,750 meters deep on average, the gas field has proven reserves of around 124.7 billion cubic meters, Sinopec said, adding that its ongoing construction is a major breakthrough in its exploration business.

Editor: James Boynton