CHONGQING -- The Fuling shale gas field in Southwest China's Chongqing municipality saw a significant increase in natural gas output in the first three quarters of 2022, according to the field's developer Sinopec, China's largest oil refiner.

During the period, the field produced approximately 5.42 billion cubic meters of natural gas, up 54 million cubic meters from the same period last year, the company said.

Meanwhile, 56 new wells were put into production in the first nine months this year, helping increase daily gas supply by 3.1 million cubic meters.

The Fuling shale gas field has taken various measures to improve its production capacity over the years. In the first three quarters of 2022, the gas field had about 529 million cubic meters of its gas output generated thanks to efficient technical improvement measures.

Shale gas is mainly methane. It is considered a clean, new energy resource.

The Fuling gas field, which began commercial development in 2014, has posted a total gas output of over 47 billion cubic meters since it was developed. Currently, the field produces over 20 million cubic meters of shale gas per day, providing clean energy for central and eastern China.