New Gas for PetroChina

PetroChina Company Ltd. (PTR - Analyst Report) has discovered solid gas flow at an onshore well in the east Sulige gas field, China. Daily output from this well is 610,000 cubic meters.

Discovered in 2000, the Sulige field has a projected 534 billion cubic meters of natural gas. It is located in the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, one of the most resource-rich areas in China, which produced 3.75 billion cubic meters of natural gas in 2008.

China National Petroleum Corporation, the parent of PetroChina, had received a grant from the Government to start building a natural gas plant in Inner Mongolia in 2009, which will process the production from this field. The new plant is expected to be online by the end of 2010. The new gas plant will be the fourth one at the Sulige natural gas field in Inner Mongolia's Ordos basin.

Using its own technology, and in partnership with foreign companies such as Total SA (TOT - Analyst Report) and Royal Dutch Shell (RDS.A - Analyst Report), PetroChina has ambitious plans for Sulige gas development.

Natural gas is expected to be a key growth area for PetroChina. In 2008, natural gas production increased by more than 14% year-over-year. In addition to the domestic initiatives, PetroChina is also making progress with securing natural gas resources abroad.

PetroChina's steadily growing natural gas volumes, investments in transportation assets and the Chinese Government's efforts to promote natural gas as a substitute for coal in power generation provide for attractive long-term growth opportunities.

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