[A-List] China: new oil discovery

["Michael Keaney" <michael.keaney@xxxxxx>]

PetroChina unit strikes oil in Gansu
By Richard McGregor
Financial Times; May 27, 2004

A unit of PetroChina, the country's largest oil producer, has made its
biggest discovery of oil in a decade, according to a report yesterday in a
local industry website, China Oil News.

Changqing Oilfield Branch, a unit of PetroChina, said that up to 450m metric
tonnes, or about 1.3bn barrels of crude, had been discovered at its Xifeng
field in Gansu province, in north-west China.

"The discovery of Xifeng oil field is of great significance for the lasting
and steady development of China's oil industry," the website said.

The discovery comes at a time when increasing demand from China is being
blamed for pushing global crude oil prices to all-time highs.

Between 2000 and 2003, China accounted for 40 per cent of the growth in
world oil demand.

The country consumed 170m barrels of oil last year, of which 90m barrels
were imported. It is expected to import 100m barrels this year.

China's exploration efforts over the past decade have generally been
disappointing, forcing the country to intensify its investments in fields
overseas.

Exploration began at Xifeng three years ago and production started in late
2005.