Argentina and China have joined the league of leading commercial producers of shale gas outside North America during the first half of the year, reveals a research conducted by US Energy Information Administration (EIA) and Advanced Resources International (ARI).

Titled ‘2013 World Shale Gas and Shale Oil Resource Assessment’, the research has identified the two countries to be the only producers outside North America to reach commercial production of natural gas from shale formations.

While China has drilled over 200 wells over the last two years, Argentina has carried out drilling operations for more than 275 wells.

Both the nations have the potential to boost their production capacity for shale gas and tight oil.

As of April, Argentina’s national energy company Yacimientos Petroliferos Fiscales (YPF) was the largest shale operator in the country.

State-owned Sinopec and China National Petroleum’s (CNPC) PetroChina are two of the firms that led initial shale gas explorations in China.

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The US is still dominating the markets as the foremost producer of both shale gas and tight oil.

Other countries, including Poland, Algeria, Australia, Colombia, and Russia, have also started seeking hydrocarbons from shale and other tight resources.

They, however, are still not capable of commercial production, the research indicated.

Mexico has also undertaken drilling efforts for shale oil and natural gas exploration, notably in the Eagle Ford Shale region and in La Casita formation within the Burgos Basin in northeastern parts of the country.

Ten out of 13 shale exploration wells owned by Petroléos Méxicanos (Pemex) have been commercialised.