Forums held in Houston to promote China-US energy co-op

Two forums were held Tuesday in the fourth largest US city of Houston to promote China-US energy cooperation.

The 3rd US-China Petroleum Forum and the 2013 China-US Shale Gas Technology Forum were held on the sideline of the Offshore Technology Conference (OTC), one of the world's largest offshore technology shows that attracts a large number of Chinese energy companies.

As the US-China Petroleum Forum promotes cooperation on energy between the two countries , the China-US Shale Gas Technology Forum focuses specifically on helping foster partnership in the field of shale gas, whose robust growth in recent years has led to major increases in reserves of US natural gas.

"The development of shale gas has changed the energy landscape in the US," said Song Cao, president of US Shale Gas Technology Center, the sponsor of the shale gas technology forum.

"There is also an increasing demand for shale gas in China," Cao said. However, he said, the Chinese companies generally are not familiar with shale gas. Making shale gas an economic and accessible resource is not easy, he said.

The goal of the newly established US Shale Gas Technology Center is connecting small and medium-sized US energy companies with Chinese companies, Cao said.

The US shale gas development was initially driven by small- and medium-sized companies and those companies now have hand-on experience and applicable technologies and equipment in this field, according to Cao.

"Small- and medium-sized Chinese companies may not have the opportunities to team up with big US companies, that's why we are here helping foster partnership between small- and medium-sized US and Chinese companies," Cao said.

Those small- and medium-sized US companies are interested in the Chinese market and the cooperation will benefit both sides, according to Cao.

Attendees at both forums Tuesday voiced optimism about enhanced energy cooperation between two world's largest economies. Local officials also expressed hope for expanding energy cooperation between China and Houston, the so-called US energy capital.

"Houston and China have seen our trade relationship grow dramatically, especially in the last 10 years," Bill Banta, chairman of the Greater Houston Partnership's Foreign Direct Investment Committee, said at the US-China Petroleum Forum, an event co-sponsored by the Global Chinese Petroleum Entrepreneur Association and the Greater Houston Partnership.

Total trade between Houston and China has grown by more than 11.3 billion US dollars since 2000, representing a compound annual growth rate of 19.45 percent, according to Banta.