Fraccing and knowledge transfer from the USA to China

Reuters has an interesting article about the new partnership between FTSI (formally Frac Tech) and Sinopec to bring technological practices from the American shale gas revolution to China, where the potential for shale gas exploration and fraccing technology is significant. The article states that no-one knows where and when the next major unconventional hydrocarbon play will be found, but that Sinopec has already been looking in the Sichuan Basin. Were China to find a significant gas resource, it might help them to reduce their reliance on coal which has recently been estimated to cause a 5.5 year reduction in life expectancy .