In a report to an international engineering meeting last week in Beijing, Ma Fucai, president of the China National Petroleum Corporation, said annual gas reserves in China grew at a slow rate before the 1990s, but began to increase rapidly since then as China intensified exploration activities.

China's verified natural gas reserve has been increased by an average of 100 billion cubic meters annually during the past decade, said Ma.

There are ten basins each with verified reserves of more than one trillion cubic meters. They are Tarim, Sichuan, Shaanxi--Gansu- -Ningxia area, the East China Sea, the Bohai Bay, the Yingge Bay, Qiongdongnan, Zhujiangkou, Junger and Qaidam. Their combined gas reserve is 32.26 trillion cubic meters, which represents 84.8 percent of the nation's total, according to the report.

According to the results of the second round nationwide hydrocarbon resource assessment, the gas reserve in the 69 basins and gas bearing regions amounts to 38.4 trillion cubic meters, forming a firm resource base for the development of the natural gas industry of China, said the president.

Currently, there are four major natural gas-producing regions in Sichuan province, Shaanxi--Gansu--Ningxia area, Qaidam in southwest China's Qinghai province and Tarim in the northwestern Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region.

As coal dominates the energy mix in China, Ma believes it is urgent to improve the proportion of clean energy.

Natural gas takes an increasing large share in energy consumption in the world, averaging 24 percent, and even more than 50 percent in some countries. However, it only accounts for 2.1 percent in China, indicating a great potential for increased consumption, said Ma.

He said China is adopting measures to speed natural gas production and consumption.

The country has formulated a plan for a 4,000-kilometer pipeline project which will transport natural gas from western China to the Yangtze River delta region.

(Xinhua 10/19/2000)