Xinjiang to Become China's Biggest Petroleum, Gas ProducerThe Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, in northwest China, is expected to become the biggest petroleum and gas production base in China, succeeding the post of Daqing Oilfield in northeast China's Heilongjiang Province, in eight years.Li Licheng, deputy director-general of the regional petroleum association, made the prediction Wednesday at a regional science forum. Li said the west-to-east gas transmission project, scheduled to start construction this year, will provide more opportunities for Xinjiang to develop its petroleum and gas industry. By 2008, the region's crude oil output is expected to reach 50 million tons, equal to the annual output of Daqing, currently the largest in China. Upon completion, the west-to-east gas transmission project, extending for more than 4,000 kilometers, will send gas from Xinjiang's Tarim Basin to the Yangtze River Delta in east China. By the end of last year, the proved reserves of petroleum in the region was over 2.5 billion tons and that of natural gas is nearly 700 billion cubic meters. Meanwhile, Xinjiang can also serve as a bridge for transmitting oil and gas from central Asia into China, to meet the increasing demand for crude oil in the country, Li said. |
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