Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, northwest China, announced it has 1.06 trillion cubic meters of proven geological gas reserves on land, ranking first in the country.

The regional bureau of land resources said in a recent press release that Xinjiang also placed second in the country, only after Heilongjiang Province, northeast China, with 3.1 billion tons of verified geological petroleum reserves on land.

According to the release, by late 2004, geological workers had found 138 kinds of mineral resources across the remote Chinese region, of which 80 have been verified to posses solid reserves.

Apart from petroleum, gas, and uranium ores, the workers have found mineral resources of other kinds in 958 places in Xinjiang by the end of 2004, an increase of nine from the 2003 level.

Xinjiang, with an area of 1.6 million sq km, is the largest provincial-level region in the country by territory.

(Xinhua News Agency November 26, 2005)