China Oil HBP Science & Technology Co. Ltd., an oilfield equipment and services provider listed on the Shenzhen Stock Exchange, will bid for shale gas exploration rights in a second auction to be held next month.

Dozens of Chinese companies are lining up to bid in the highly anticipated tender on Oct. 25, which will see the Ministry of Land and Resources (MLR) put 20 blocks with a total area of 20,002 square kilometers under the hammer. Underscoring investor interest in shale gas, shares of HBP surged by 10 percent at the start of trading on Wednesday and Thursday.

HBP's board of directors voted in favor of the company's participation in the tender and for Chairman Huang Song to lodge bids of up to RMB 280 million ($44.22 million), HBP said in a statement issued on Wednesday. Huang is the largest shareholder in HBP with a 16.82 percent interest as of end-June.

"If a bid should exceed this figure, the board will hold discussions to determine whether to proceed," Wang Yuanyuan, an investor relations representative for HBP, told Interfax on Thursday. Founded in 1998 and floated last year, HBP operates in a dozen countries including Sudan and Iraq's Rumailia oilfield.

HBP meets all of the MLR's criteria for participating in the tender, the statement said. The company has a registered capital of RMB 303.75 million ($47.98 million), just above the MLR's minimum threshold of RMB 300 million ($47.37 million).

The company has also agreed to cooperate with Henan Oilfield Geophysical Exploration Co., a subsidiary of China Petrochemical Corp., and Heilongjiang Longmay Geological Exploration Co. Ltd., both of which are qualified to explore for gas minerals. Longmay is a subsidiary of Chinese coal mining giant Heilongjiang Longmay Mining Holding Group Co. Ltd.

HBP will select the two companies as technological and engineering partners if it wins blocks in the tender.

Shale gas exploration is in line with HBP's future growth strategy of moving into upstream development, according to the statement. The move will not only help extend the company's industrial chain but also increase its expertise and profitability in the market.

HBP's entry into shale gas comes on the heels of other companies announcing their intent to bid in the tender. Chinese coking coal miner Wintime Energy Co. Ltd. announced last week it will form a joint venture with the Institute of Geological and Mineral Exploration in Xi'an, capital of Shaanxi Province, to participate in the auction.

HBP acknowledged in the statement that bidding in the auction would increase its capital pressure, but sought to assure investors that its financial health would not be affected.

Industry experts, however, have cautioned against companies with no oil and gas experience joining China's shale gas race, as it requires significant capital investment and advanced expertise.

Non-oil and gas companies should delay their entry until the sector has had time to mature, Tang Tingchuan, director of development strategy at China National Petroleum Corp.'s Policy Research Office, told Interfax in an interview last week.