China is speeding up efforts to develop offshore natural gas in the country's coastal areas in a bid to adjust energy structure and increase the supply of clean and high-quality energy for the developed coastal areas. Shanghai and the provinces of Guangdong, Fujian, Zhejiang, and Jiangsu are the most economically vibrant coastal regions in China, and they need an increasing amount of clean and high-quality energy, according to a senior official with the China National Offshore Oil Corp. (CNOOC).

Their combined energy demand will top 470 million tons of standard coal by 2005, and 610 million tons by 2010, said the official, stressing that developing offshore gas is important for the region's sustained economic growth. He noted that China is very rich in offshore gas reserves, and the country has developed a group of important gas production centers in the South China Sea, Bohai Sea, and the East China Sea. The official explained that the western South China Sea is a key gas source, and four gas fields and 15 gas-bearing structures have been found there.

The Yacheng 13-1 gas field off the island province of Hainan now provides 2.9 billion cu m of natural gas for the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region annually via a 780-km sub-sea pipeline, and 500 million cu m of gas for the province's fertilizer plants and power plants via a 100-km pipeline.

The official said that the western area of the South China Sea will add three billion cu m of gas supply by 2005, and another three billion cu m by 2010. Two gas fields and eight gas-bearing structures have been discovered in the eastern East China Sea, and the Pinghu gas field, about 400 km east of Shanghai, has been supplying the city with 400 million cu m of gas a year, and will add 1.2 billion cu m of gas supply by 2010. On the Bohai Sea, one gas field and 18 gas-bearing structures have been discovered. The Jinzhou 20-2 gas field provides 400 million cu m of natural gas for the Jinzhou Chemical Fertilizer Plant annually, and will increase the supply to 700 million cu m by 2010.