The Tarim Basin in northwest China, a major provider of fuel for
the country's west-to-east natural gas pipeline, produced 11
billion cubic meters of gas last year, nearly double the output of
2005, a company source said on Friday.
Natural gas output increased by 5.3 billion cubic meters over
2005, as a number of new wells entered production and more gas
treatment equipment was commissioned, said a source with Tarim
Oilfields Co. Ltd, a subsidiary of China National Petroleum
Corporation, the country's leading oil company.
Counted in oil equivalent, the Tarim Oilfields Co. produced
15.33 million tons last year, compared with 11.13 million tons in
2005, the source said.
CNPC Tarim Oilfields Co. is a key player in the 4,000-km
pipeline project designed to bring natural gas from western China
-- primarily Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region and Shaanxi Province-- to 34 cities in the
economically developed but energy-starved eastern regions.
Situated in southern Xinjiang, the 560,000 square-kilometer
Tarim Basin has proven oil reserves of 526 million tons and 724
billion cubic meters of gas.
Four major oil producing centers and three major gas gathering
hubs have been built in the basin.
(Xinhua News Agency January 13, 2007)