僕住宀: $ 噐 2004年12月24日, 10:14:28:
China says Bohai Bay Basin may hold 20.5 billion tons of oil
21 minutes ago Asia - AFP
BEIJING, (AFP) - Exploration teams believe the Bohai Bay Basin in northern China may hold 20.5 billion tons of oil reserves, enough to sustain the country's energy needs for a "considerable" time, state press said.
AFP Photo
So far, nine billion tons have been proven with the remaining 11.5 billion still needing to be further explored, the China Daily reported.
Bohai is one of China's major oil-producing centers and the find comes as China is trying to build up its domestic oil reserves as part of measures to cope with rising global oil prices and possible fuel shortages.
Jin Zhijun, president of the Exploration and Production Research Institute of oil giant Sinopec, said the finding "could potentially sustain the country's energy needs for a considerably long time".
China, the world's second-largest oil consumer after the United States, has been a net importer of oil since 1993 as domestic supplies have failed to keep up with soaring demand.
It currently relies on imports to meet more than one-third of its crude oil demand with the International Energy Agency (IEA) forecasting that China's total oil consumption was expected to reach 308 million tons this year.