PetroChina, the country's top oil producer, said Thursday it will invest US$60 billion over the next 10 years to expand its overseas business.

This move aims to secure annual output of oil and natural gas in foreign lands equivalent to 200 million tonnes of oil, Jiang Jiemin, PetroChina's chairman, told Xinhua on the sidelines of the firm's shareholder meeting in Beijing on Thursday.

In 2009, China National Petroleum Corporation (CNPC), the parent group of PetroChina, had investments in 29 countries and overseas crude oil output of 69.62 million tonnes and natural gas output topping 8.2 billion cubic meters, according to the Beijing-based CNPC's Social Responsibility Report (SRR) for 2009 released Tuesday.

"PetroChina will step up its international business efforts in Central Asia, the Middle East, Africa, America and the Asia-Pacific region," Jiang said.

(Xinhua News Agency May 22, 2010)