China National Offshore Oil Corp (CNOOC) said gas production has
started from an oil and gas field in the East China Sea.
On an inspection tour at the Chunxiao field last month, a senior
government official said the first stage of gas production had
begun and urged CNOOC. to make good use of its resources, the
company's website reported.
"The first phase of Chunxiao oil and gas field has already
entered the production stage," Zhang Guobao, vice director of the
National Development and Reform Commission, was quoted by the
website as saying.
"But inadequate gas usage from downstream users has limited the
speed of the oil field's exploration," he added, according to an
AFP report.
Japan has disputed China on the maritime boundary that lies
between them, and Beijing has insisted its explorations in its East
China Sea are within China's territorial waters.
However, Japan has claimed the gas field lies too close to its
Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) -- a delineation not recognized by
China. Japan has also claimed that CNOOC might siphon off resources
from deep undersea.
The Japanese foreign ministry could not be reached for comment
on Saturday, AFP said.
But Japanese business daily Nihon Keizai Shimbun quoted
unnamed foreign ministry sources as saying that Japan has started
examining counter-measures against China's development of a gas
field. If gas production at Chunxiao is confirmed, Japan will
officially protest against China and call for an immediate halt of
drilling, it said.
Japan would try to resolve the dispute through dialogue but
would step up its measures if China denies its request, the report
added.
(China Daily August 6, 2006)
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