Search China Travel News:

China's total demand for petroleum was forecast to rise about 10 percent this year to 2.5 billion barrels.

But the country would increase exploration and production to reduce its reliance on oil imports, said Tan Zhuzhou, chairman of the China Petroleum and Chemical Industry Association.

China produced 1.2 billion barrels of crude oil last year, a 2.9 percent increase over a year earlier. Natural gas production climbed 18.5 percent to 40.77 billion cubic meters.

But with the economy growing at a rate of more than 9 percent a year, growth in oil consumption is outpacing increases in production. And output at many domestic fields has been declining after decades of production.

A surge in global crude oil prices, meanwhile, boosted the country's oil import bill by more than US$10 billion last year compared with 2003, close to 1 percent of total GDP, according to government estimates.

China's recoverable oil and gas reserves accounted for less than 40 percent of its proven geological reserves, suggesting huge potential for increased production. The biggest room for growth was in natural gas -- China had explored only 10 percent of its proven gas reserves.

Tan said China would also continue to participate in overseas oil exploration. China has signed contracts to cooperate in oil exploration with 19 countries and is involved in major projects in Indonesia and Africa.