Recently, Guizhou Huayang Energy Co., Ltd. completed its business registration and was established in Nanming District, Guiyang City. This new joint venture has a registered capital of 900 million yuan and a clear equity structure. Sinopec holds 51% of the shares and Guizhou Wujiang Energy Investment Co., Ltd. holds 49%. Why Xi Peng, the legal representative of the company. According to the industrial and commercial registration information, Guizhou Huayang Energy's business covers multiple fields such as oil and gas extraction, coal to synthetic gas production, gas production and sales, oil and gas technology services, new energy research and development, specialized equipment production and sales, and hazardous waste management. The establishment of this new company marks the official landing of the joint development of unconventional natural gas in Southwest China by central enterprises and provincial state-owned enterprises.

Resource stacking to fill in the gaps

Guizhou has a favorable resource base for unconventional natural gas, but the release of production capacity has been lagging behind for a long time. The combination model of central enterprises and provincial state-owned enterprises aims to fill the gaps in regional industrial development and establish a development system that coordinates technology, production capacity, and pipeline network. Sinopec has established a large-scale coal chemical base in Zhijin, Guizhou, and is promoting two core industry projects, namely the 500000 ton per year polyglycolic acid project and the 1 million ton per year methanol project. According to the publicly disclosed information of the project, the estimated investment for the first phase of the polyglycolic acid project is 11.077 billion yuan, and stable coal conversion capacity has been built, which can provide solid support for the large-scale supply of coal to gas in the region. Guizhou Wujiang Energy Investment Co., Ltd. is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Guizhou Energy Group, with a registered capital of 9.84 billion yuan. According to publicly available industry information, the company is one of the earliest provincial state-owned enterprises in China to achieve commercial shale gas extraction. It also serves as the largest shareholder of Guizhou Gas, a A-share listed company, and mainly engages in natural gas, electricity, energy trading, and other businesses, participating in the operation of Guizhou Province's energy supply guarantee system.

Technological breakthrough in deep coalbed methane

Deep coalbed methane is an important incremental field for increasing natural gas production in China. According to publicly disclosed information in the industry, Sinopec has been deeply involved in technological breakthroughs in this field for a long time, and continues to carry out research and on-site testing for the development of deep coalbed methane. The geological conditions of deep coal seams buried over 1500 meters are complex, with low permeability, significant coal powder interference, and high difficulty in reservoir transformation. Through continuous iteration of core processes such as horizontal well segmented fracturing and efficient drilling and completion, enterprises have developed a complete set of development technologies that are suitable for complex formations. Technological iteration has brought solid productivity results. The East China Oil and Gas Branch maintains stable production in multiple work areas such as Yanchuan South, Jinzhong, and Qianzhong Uplift. By 2025, it has submitted a third level coalbed methane reserve of 36 billion cubic meters, and the Yanchuan South coalbed methane field has achieved stable production for 8 consecutive years. The North China Oil and Gas Branch has made a key breakthrough in the Yuwu area of the Ordos Basin, relying on independent research and development technology to implement Sinopec's first deep coalbed methane exploration reserve site with a scale of over 100 billion cubic meters, providing empirical support for large-scale commercial development. Keywords: reports on state-owned enterprises, natural gas development, infrastructure construction

Policy objectives drive expansion of production

Guizhou has distinct energy endowment characteristics, abundant coal resources, a high proportion of external natural gas procurement, complex regional geological structures, and mountainous landforms that further increase the cost of oil and gas development and construction. Public exploration data shows that the geological resources of shale gas in Guizhou are about 8.67 trillion cubic meters, and the geological resources of coalbed methane are about 2.83 trillion cubic meters, ranking among the top in the country in terms of overall reserves. In order to accelerate industrial development, the People's Government of Guizhou Province issued a three-year action plan for increasing unconventional natural gas reserves and production from 2026 to 2028 in August 2026, clarifying phased quantitative development goals. The document clearly states that the province's unconventional natural gas production will exceed 900 million cubic meters in 2026, 1.7 billion cubic meters in 2027, and 2.2 billion cubic meters in 2028. In the same year, the self-sufficiency rate of natural gas will increase to over 40%. Compared with the production capacity data in 2025, the target production capacity for 2028 is nearly 3.8 times the current level, with an average annual compound growth rate of over 55%. Guizhou's unconventional natural gas industry has officially entered the stage of large-scale expansion. At the national level, we are synchronously promoting the construction of the deep coalbed methane industry. On July 1, 2026, the National Energy Administration held a special meeting on deep coalbed methane exploration and development, clarifying that deep coalbed methane is a key development direction for increasing reserves and production of coalbed methane during the 15th Five Year Plan period. The country will continue to increase exploration investment and key project construction efforts.Editor/Gao Xue