Oil & Natural Gas Corp. (ONGC) of India and competitors may drill for at least four years before producing the first commercial shale gas in the nation as China expects to commence output next month and Australia boosts reserves.

BHP Billiton, BP, Total and Shell are weighing up early stage investments in Australia's shale gas sector in a bid to secure acreage before assets become too expensive.

Two reports say shale gas faced many hurdles before it would be commercially viable in Australia

By Rebekah Kebede ADELAIDE, Australia, May 15 - Australia's Beach Energy may be ready to sell shale gas just a year from now if its pilot production wells are successful, the company's managing director said on Tuesday.

U.S. supermajor Chevron announced it signed a deal to deliver liquefied natural gas from the Wheatstone project Australia to markets in Asia.

Beach Energy has closed a data room for parties eyeing its shale gas assets in central Australia and doesn't expect to attract a partner until it proves up more gas, Chairman Bob Kennedy said Tuesday.

Chevron Corp. said Monday that its Australian subsidiaries signed a nonbinding agreement to deliver, with Apache Energy and Kuwait Foreign Petroleum Exploration Co., up to 1 million tons of liquid gas each year to the Japanese power utility Tohoku Electric Power Co.

Chevron Corp. signed a deal with Tohoku Electric Power Co. for delivery of gas from its Wheatstone project off Australia's west coast. This is a non-binding "heads of agreement" deal, but nevertheless is another step in San Ramon-based Chevron's (NYSE: CVX) moves to secure customers for the multibillion dollar project. Chevron and its partners, Apache Energy and Kuwait Foreign Petroleum Exploration Co., agreed to deliver up to 1 million tons of liquefied natural gas to Tohoku per year for up to

A study done by Geoscience Australia estimates Australia's natural gas resource at about 390 trillion cubic feet. The country's offshore resources is being aggressively developed by projects that are expected to produce LNG that will be exported to Asia.