BIZCHINA / Center
Largest gasfield discovery may be declared soon
By Wang Yu (China Daily)
Updated: 2007-05-29 08:26
PetroChina, the country's top oil and gas producer, is soon expected to
announce China's largest natural gas discovery, which may surpass Sulige
and Puguang gasfields in terms of reserves, according to industry experts.
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Large-scale gas field discovered
"PetroChina is to announce a major natural gas discovery that's even
richer than our Puguang gas field. The new gasfield is also located in
Sichuan Province," a source in Sinopec told China Daily yesterday.
The new find, known as Longgang gasfield, has two to three times the
reserve of Puguang, run by Sinopec, said Han Xuegong, a senior consultant
with China National Petroleum Corporation (CNPC) , PetroChina's parent
company. "That makes Longgang China's top gasfield," Han said.
China's current top gas field, Sulige, in the Inner Mongolia Autonomous
Region, has proven reserves of 533.6 billion cubic meters. Puguang
gasfield in Sichuan Province boasts a proven exploitable reserve of 356
billion cubic meters, being the country's second-largest, said the
Ministry of Land and Resources earlier this year.
The Longgang gasfield will definitely surpass Puguang in reserves, but
PetroChina is still trying to determine the final reserve figure, said
Han.
Han guesses the official announcement about the new discovery might come
next month.
A senior manager of PetroChina, who did not want to be named, confirmed
to China Daily that a major natural gas finding is to be unveiled soon.
But he wouldn't elaborate.
China's natural gas production is expected to reach 92 billion cubic
meters by 2010, while demand will cross pass 100 billion cubic meters by
then.
"The gap between supply and demand is to be bridged by either an increase
in local production or imports. Of course, local supply is a more secure
option," Han said.
Sichuan Province boasts robust potential in natural gas exploration and
production. With exploitable reserves hitting around 700 billion cubic
meters, the geological reserves of Longgang is likely to exceed 2
trillion cubic meters," Han said.
Officials of Dazhou, Sichuan Province, announced during the weekend that
a total of 3.8 trillion cubic meters of natural gas deposits have been
found in the western part of the Sichuan Basin.
The reserves at Dazhou include proven exploitable reserves of newly
discovered 244 billion cubic meters - China's total production in around
four years - and the already-announced 356 billion cubic meters in
Puguang gas field. Both PetroChina and Sinopec are tapping gas reserves
in Dazhou.
Although it will take some time for the new gasfields to come on stream,
it will boost China's energy supply and enhance the country's energy
efficiency in the long run, Han said.
(For more biz stories, please visit Industry Updates)
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