China’s shale natural gas production is accelerating fast, costs are moving lower, but the situation is still not comparable to the U.S. boom, analysis finds. Consultant group Wood Mackenzie expects Chinese shale natural gas production will nearly double by 2020 to around 2 billion cubic feet per day. Separate analysis from the U.S. Energy Information Administration estimates U.S. gas production, meanwhile, swells 59 percent from last year’s level to 118 billion cubic feet per day, but that level of growth will take another 30 years. Growth in Chinese basins has been impressive, but short of its target. Costs have declined by about 40 percent for exploration and production, though China’s tough geology makes work more challenging than in U.S. shale. […]