New Oil and Gas Reserves FoundOil and gas reserves of more than 100 million tons have been found in Liaohe Oilfield, in Northeast China's Liaoning Province, according to China Daily.A spokesman for the State-owned company which operates the field said Wednesday that the reserves, which cover an area of 43 square kilometers, have been discovered five meters below the sea in the Bay of Eastern Liaoning. The oil-rich area stretches from Huludao port to Bayuquan port. Geologists said the area is an extension of the Liaohe River Basin, which also contains rich oil and gas reserves. The oilfield operators obtained the rights of exploration and exploitation in the area in the early 1980s. However, little was discovered at that time. The operators decided to speed up the process of offshore exploration and exploitation, and injected a great deal of money in it. Experts said it was essential for the company's future to find large oil and gas reserves. If its output dropped sharply, it would seriously affect the country's petroleum market, and possibly even the world market, experts said. They say the new oil and gas pool has great exploitation potential, which will guarantee the oilfield's stable-production levels in the coming years. The oil giant produced 14.48 million tons of crude oil and 1.1 billion cubic metres of natural gas last year. Based in Liaoning Province and the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, the Liaohe Oilfield is a large State-owned special united enterprise group. As the province's largest tax revenue enterprise, the company specializes in oil and natural gas exploration, development, processing and comprehensive utilization. According to statistics, the enterprise achieved a record high sales income of more than 15.2 billion yuan (US$1.83 billion), and revenues of 2.5 billion yuan (US$301 million) last year. |
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