URUMQI, Oct. 28  -- The Tarim Oilfield in China's far western Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region has sent more than 140 billion cubic meters of natural gas to east China in the past decade, the latest statistics showed Tuesday.

The oil field's annual gas output to east China grew from 351 million cubic meters in 2004 to 17.8 billion cubic meters in 2013, benefiting 400 million people in more than 80 cities and 3,000 enterprises in east China, according to the Tarim Oilfield company.

Meanwhile, natural gas produced by the oil field, a subsidiary of China National Petroleum Corporation, has also been accessible to more than 4 million residents in Xinjiang after a 2,400-km-long pipeline was put into operation in 2013.

As China's largest natural gas producer, the Tarim field has been a key provider for the 4,000-km pipeline project to bring natural gas from western China, primarily Xinjiang and Shaanxi Province, to the economically developed eastern regions since 2004.