More Chinese gas firms are now allowed to cooperate with foreign companies as Beijing seeks to boost clean energy use by encouraging funds and technology from abroad, state media said yesterday.
More "state-designated" companies are allowed, from Monday, to set up ventures with foreign partners to explore methane trapped in coal seams, the China Daily said, citing a revised rule by the State Council.
In the past, China United Coal-bed Methane Corp was the only company allowed to do so according to a 2001 version of the rule, the report said.
Analysts said the move would speed up the development of the industry as more funds and advanced technology would enter into China's coal-bed methane exploration and production, the report said.
"To further tap coal-bed methane, the state will bring a few new players into the field to test the water," said Sun Maoyuan, general manager of China United Coal-bed Methane Corp. "But our potential competitors simply do not boast as big reserves as us, and it will take time for them to develop."
The company recently won official approval to produce 500 million cubic meters of gas annually with Asia American Gas Inc in Shanxi Province, the newspaper said.
China has 37 trillion cubic meters in coal-bed methane reserves, the third largest in the world, it said.
Separately, Chinese regulators gave oil and gas giant PetroChina approval for a domestic stock market listing.
The nation's largest energy group won the nod from the China Securities Regulatory Commission late on Monday, according to a statement on the commission Web site.
PetroChina, which is already listed in Hong Kong and New York, plans to issue up to 4 billion yuan-denominated A shares, according to a draft prospectus.
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