PetroChina Co. and Royal Dutch Shell Plc deepened their collaboration in exploring unconventional gas resources with the Chinese company investing in a Canadian project and the European oil producer pledging to help it step up drilling to tap shale reserves in the second-largest economy.
China’s biggest oil producer said yesterday it bought a 20 percent stake in Shell’s Groundbirch shale-gas project in British Columbia. The two companies also plan to increase drilling in China to 20 to 25 wells this year from 15 in 2011, Shell’s Chief Financial Officer Simon Henry said.
