Technicians check shale gas transport facilities in Chongqing. China is believed to possess the world's biggest estimated technically recoverable shale gas resources.[Provided to China Daily]

BEIJING - China National Petroleum Corporation (CNPC) and BP Group signed a production sharing contract (PSC) Thursday for shale gas exploration, development and production.

The two companies agreed to exploit resources in the Neijiang-Dazu block in southwest China's Sichuan Basin, an area of approximately 1,500 square kilometers.

BP Group Chief Executive Bob Dudley said "We are looking forward to working together with CNPC on technology, operational and subsurface techniques in unconventional resources."

China continues to be an important part of BP's portfolio, he said.

This PSC is the first deal to come out of a BP and CNPC cooperation agreement signed last October. It is also BP's first shale gas PSC in China.

BP's 2016 Energy Outlook predicts that by 2035 shale gas will account for a quarter of the total gas produced globally and China will be the world's largest contributor.