Tianjin storage cluster produces 30 bln cubic meters of natural gas

TIANJIN, Feb. 7 (Xinhua) -- The PetroChina Dagang Oilfield Company in north China's Tianjin Municipality announced on Tuesday that the oil field's first underground gas storage cluster in China has produced more than 30 billion cubic meters of natural gas, ranking first in the country.

The figure is roughly equal to the municipality's total gas consumption in the past three years, said Li Caixiong, manager of the Tianjin gas storage branch.

The gas storage cluster, located in the Tianjin Binhai New Area, consists of 11 underground gas storage areas, with a maximum daily gas production of 30.5 million cubic meters.

The gas storage cluster has been operating at a high level of over 20 million cubic meters of daily gas production for 40 consecutive days. Its current gas production accounts for nearly one-fifth of the total gas produced by domestic gas storage sites.

In recent years, with the rapid growth of natural gas consumption, gas storage sites play an increasingly indispensable role in ensuring the safe and smooth operation of the natural gas energy market.

Dagang Oilfield is expected to produce more than 2.33 billion cubic meters of gas this winter, effectively easing the growing demand for gas in the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region during cold weather conditions.