China should steadily expand either domestic oil output or
import from foreign countries to meet its growing oil demand, Tang
Jian, deputy of the Xinjiang delegation, told china.org.cn on
Tuesday on the sidelines of the ongoing Fourth Plenary Session of the 10th National
People's Congress (NPC).
Tang is the secretary of Karamay Municipal Committee of the
Communist Party of China (CPC)
in Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, and director
of the Xinjiang Oil Administrative Bureau under China National
Petroleum Corporation (CNPC).
To help ease the country's insatiable demand for oil driven by
the rapidly growing economy, Karamay, one of the country's major
oil production bases, is stepping up oil prospecting work and
steadily expanding oil capacity.
First put into production on October 29, 1955, Karamay Oilfield
has reported output growth for 25 consecutive years.
"Crude oil outputs have grown steadily over the past three
years, generating 11.1 million tons, 11.7 million tons and 12
million tons respectively," Tang said.
Table: Output of Karamay Oilfield in Past Several
Years
| Year |
2002 |
2003 |
2004 |
2005 |
| Output (million tons) |
10 |
11.1 |
11.7 |
12 |
Xinjiang, with its advantageous location because it shares borders
with eight countries, serves as a bridge for a secured oil supply
from Central Asian countries. Moreover, the Atasu-Alataw Pass
section of the China-Kazakhstan oil pipeline was completed last
December.
Tang noted: "The pipeline will stretch to Dushanzi, Karamay,
where an oil refinery factory with annual processing capacity of 10
million tons has been planned."
As a result of soaring oil prices, Karamay's gross domestic
product (GDP) last year was 38.5 billion yuan (about US$4.78
billion), 30 percent higher than the year before.
But, worries still remain because the exhaustible resources
contradict the concept of sustainable development adopted by the
central government. These days, more consideration is being given
to the reasonable tapping of oil resources, diversifying the
economic structure and environment protection.
According to Karamay Municipal Bureau of Statistics, the
agriculture, industry and service sectors account for 0.4 percent,
89.1 percent and 10.5 percent respectively of the city's GDP. Among
them, "the production value of petrochemical sector accounts for
85-90 percent of the city's total."
Although the city's oil resources are expected to last for about
100 years, the local government is determined to reduce its
dependence on a single industry.
"Environment protection should be given priority so that a
balance between oil-extracting and the local environment can be
achieved," Tang said. "The speed with which we extract oil should
be kept within the limits of a scientific outlook on
development.
"We have raised the issue of economic restructuring for mass
deliberation, and hope that we can find a substitute industry."
However, Tang admitted that this would prove to be a long-term
project.
"We are still in the period of exploration," he concluded.
Background: history of the development of Karamay
Oilfield
October 29, 1955 Karamay Oilfield,
the first big oilfield discovered after the establishment of the
People's Republic of China in 1949, was put into operation.
June 4, 1958 First batch of
finished oil products were transported from Dushanzi Oil Refinery
Factory.
May 23, 2001 The third
national resources evaluation project draws the conclusion that the
oil and natural gas deposit in Junggar Basin is expected to reach
10.259 billion tons.
December 24, 2002 Its yearly
output of crude oil surpasses 10 million tons.
(China.org.cn by staff reporter Tang Fuchun, March 10, 2006)
