Last week China’s Sinopec entered into a 15 year joint venture with US oil field services company FTS International in what is seen as a first of a kind partnership that would allow for the transfer of shale drilling technology to China.

Under the joint venture, to be 55% owned by Sinopec and the rest by FTS, the US company will invest about $US55 ($A53.2) million to $US70 million to develop Sinopec’s shale gas facilities in Sichuan province.

FTS will provide fraccing services for two to six wells a month initially with the potential to ramp up and possibly extend the offering to other shale prospectors in the region.

The FTS deal comes close on the heels of another JV that Sinopec Oilfield entered into with Switzerland’s Weatherford International to provide equipment and services to shale drillers in mainland China.

That China has one of the largest technically recoverable shale resources is well documented. However, what has caught the attention of analysts and, indeed, sceptics of China’s unconventional potential is its silent shale march with Beijing’s shale targets looking increasingly within reach.

Already, the Sichuan province – the mainstay of China’s shale ambitions – has been producing gas from conventional fields for centuries. While the geology has been challenging, the region is not plagued by issues that beset other shale plays such as lack of fraccing water or pipelines. It has enough water sources and plentiful pipeline access to mature gas markets.

Many say Beijing’s target of producing 60 billion to 100 billion cubic metres of shale gas (or about one-fifth to a third of gas demand) by 2020 may be ambitious. However, already, next year’s target of 6.5Bcu.m is likely to be surpassed with Sinopec raising its output goal to 5Bcu.m from 2Bcu.m two years ago and PetroChina looking to produce about 2.6Bcu.m, up from 1.5Bcu.m.

Beijing’s ambitious shale agenda depends on a successful 65% annual growth from 2015 onwards though.

That target is almost double the 37% annual growth in US shale output between 2005 and 2010. Analysts say that if China mirrors the US shale growth rate, its shale targets can be reached within a decade.

It is within this context that the two deals hold significance.

Previous ventures such as those with Schlumberger and Halliburton have been with Hong Kong listed companies and focused on foreign expertise. However, the FTS joint venture will potentially involve moving equipment manufacturing to China over a three to four year period, to capitalise on cost savings.

Analysts point out that the while the ventures would make Sinopec Oilfield’s valuations more attractive ahead of it being spun off, the overarching implication is that Sichuan could be host to China’s Barnett and Bakken – potentially unleashing a gas gush.