China's biggest upstream producer CNPC raised domestic output to a record high last year, with production of natural gas exceeding crude for the first time.
The company produced over 20mn t of oil equivalent (toe) in 2020, including 130.4bn m³ (103.9mn toe) of natural gas. CNPC, the parent company of state-controlled PetroChina, accounts for around 50pc of Chinese crude output and 70pc of natural gas.
CNPC's gas output rose by 9.8pc from 2019 to surpass 100mn toe for the first time. The company did not give a specific figure for full-year crude output, but PetroChina said in its most recent results that domestic production was 2.04mn b/d in January-September.
The biggest contributor to company output was the Changqing field in northwest China, which achieved record annual output of 60mn toe as of 27 December, including 498,000 b/d of liquids and 123.3mn m³ natural gas.
CNPC's other major oil fields include Daqing in northeast China, which produced 603,000 b/d of crude in 2020, and the Tarim field in northwest China with output of 124,000 b/d of crude and 85mn m³/d of natural gas as of late December.
Gas output was 31.6bn m³ (86mn m³/d) from CNPC's Southwest field operations in the Sichuan basin.
CNPC said it is aiming to ensure its crude production holds above 100mn t/yr (2mn b/d) in the future, as well as continuously increasing gas output.
China's state-owned oil giants have been working to increase upstream reserves and production under a seven-year action plan announced by central government in 2018, which aims to strengthen China's energy security and reverse a decline in domestic output that started in 2015.
