Saturday, May 05, 2007

China finds large oil deposits in Bohai Bay

BEIJING (AFP) - China National Petroleum Corporation (CNPC) announced it has found an oil field with proven reserves of 405.1 million tonnes of oil equivalent in north China's Bohai Bay, state media said Friday.

The discovery has been praised by Premier Wen Jiabao, with CNPC adding that the field could contain up to one billion tonnes of oil equivalent, the Beijing News said.

"The discovery of the high-quality (Jidong) Nanbao oil field is the most exciting one in more than 40 years," Wen was quoted as saying during a visit to the field on May 1.

"I was so happy on hearing the news that I couldn't even fall asleep."

CNPC said in a statement Thursday that Jidong Nanbao oil field, located in the Bohai Sea near Caofeidian port in Hebei Province, has proven reserves of 405.1 million tonnes of oil equivalent.

Jia Chengzao, an oil geologist with the Chinese Academy of Sciences, projected the new findings will lead to a rapid growth in CNPC production in the area, the newspaper said.

However, oil analysts have said reserve figures released by mainland state firms are often inflated compared to standards used by Western companies when calculating how much oil can be economically produced.

As the world's second largest oil consumer, China imported a record 145.2 million tonnes crude oil in 2006, or 47 percent of total consumption as domestic output stagnated, according to earlier reports.

Imports this year are expected to account for just under half of its needs, rising more than 10 percent to top 160 million tonnes.