On August 24, 2017, the Ministry of Land and Resources, Guangdong province and CNPC signed in Beijing a Strategic Cooperation Agreement on Promoting the Building of a Pilot Site for Exploring and Exploiting Gas Hydrate in the Shenhu Area of the South China Sea. The conclusion of this agreement will help accelerate the industrial development of gas hydrate in China, and is of great strategic significance to securing the country’s energy security and optimizing its energy mix. Under the agreement, CNPC will continue to take advantage of its technologies and experience in onshore natural gas development and deep-sea hydrate test production in building the pilot site.