Schlumberger's new petroleum institute in China will address the challenges in the country's oil and gas sector.

The world's leading supplier of oil and gas technology, Schlumberger has opened a new petroleum institute in China, it emerged on Friday, to develop and test technologies to address challenges specific to the country's oil and gas sector.

The oil and gas service provider opened the Schlumberger China Petroleum Institute (SCPI) on Friday, the firm said in a press release. The institute is located in Schlumberger's China headquarters office building in the Chaoyang district, Beijing.

SCPI features more than 100 petro-technical experts who will deliver integrated petro-technical services to Chinese NOCs and international oil firms working in the country.

"We are excited at SCPI to propose joint R&D initiatives to our clients to develop and test technologies to address technical challenges specific to China oil and gas fields," said SCPI director Dr Bernard Montaron.

"This could be very important for the future, especially for unconventional resources," he added.

Schlumberger China president Cheng Xu described the establishment of the institute as a "milestone" in Schlumberger's activities in China, adding that it leverages the firm's "expertise in reservoir evaluation".