2010-06-02 10:26

BEIJING: PetroChina will invest more 10 billion yuan ($1.46 billion) in coming years to build 4.5 billion cubic meters of coal seam gas production capacity in China, a company official said.

"We aim to complete capacity building by 2013 and boost actual output to that level by 2015," Jie Mingxun, general manager of PetroChina Coalbed Methane Gas Co told an industry forum in Beijing on May 28.

He said PetroChina's production of coal seam gas would reach 10 billion cubic meters by 2020.

"We often reach our goals ahead of schedule," he told reporters on the sidelines of the China Energy Strategy Forum.

Jie said China's proven coal seam gas reserves totaled 185.2 billion cubic meters, with PetroChina holding about half of that.

PetroChina has two coal seam gas subsidiaries. Huabei Oilfield was focussed mostly in Qinshui Basin, northern Shanxi and PetroChina Coalbed Methane Gas Co worked in other regions, according to Jie.