West China's Tarim Oilfield registered a record 497 million tonnes of 3P (proven, probable and possible) reserves of oil and gas in 2009, the company has announced.

Last year was the fourth consecutive year that the field in Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, China's largest natural gas supplier, developed more than 400 million tonnes of 3P reserves, said Li Baozhong, publicity officer with the PetroChina Tarim Oilfield Company.

The reserves would guarantee the oilfield as a "significant factor" in supply central and eastern China with much-needed energy, he said.

He would not disclose Tarim's specific gas output this year, only saying that the amount would hinge on downstream demand and overall supply planning for China's second West-East natural gas pipeline.

The 8,653-kilometer-long pipeline, starting from Horgos in Xinjiang, through Shanghai and Guangzhou, and ending in Hong Kong, is to enter full operation by the end of 2011.

But the western section between Horgos and Zhongwei in northwestern Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region has been in use since mid-December.

The pipeline will supply homes in Beijing by mid-January.

Company statistics show the Tarim Oilfield had stabilized its annual oil and gas equivalent production at around 20 million tonnes. In 2009, its crude oil output was 5.54 million tonnes while natural gas output reached 18.1 billion cubic meters, up 700million cubic meters year on year and accounting for about 25 percent of China's total.

Li denied a report from Nanfang Daily this week that the company was to invest 10 billion yuan in oil and gas exploration, but he admitted there would be an investment this year and the amount was confidential.

A company statement said the company had explored 27 oil and gas production areas with expected reserves of 3.5 billion tonnes since it began operating in China's fourth largest oil production base 20 years ago.

Its accumulated oil output was 78 million tonnes and gas production was 73.6 billion cubic meters over the past two decades.

Tarim, covering 560,000 square kilometers, has about 16 billion tonnes of oil and gas reserves, but only 12 percent have been proved.

Over the past five years, it has supplied 60 billion cubic meters of gas via a major pipeline to more than 3,000 businesses and 300 million people in 80 cities, including Beijing and Shanghai.

In 2020, Tarim is expected to produce 50 million tonnes of oil and gas, including 50 billion cubic meters of natural gas.

China consumed 80 billion cubic meters of natural gas in 2008, about 3.2 percent of the total consumption of primary energies. In developed countries, the rate is about 25 percent.

Gas demand is expected to hit 110 billion cubic meters in 2010.

(Xinhua News Agency January 8, 2010)