China's top economic planner said on Friday that the country's second-largest gas field could boast more reserves of natural gas than previously thought.

Sinopec's Puguang Gas Field will yield an estimated 100 billion cubic meters (bcm) in proven reserves of natural gas this year, bolstering its total reserve figure to about 450 bcm by the end of the year, the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) said on Friday.

But further exploration could see Puguang's proven reserves hit 550 to 580 bcm by 2008, the NDRC said.

The commission on Friday launched construction of the long-awaited pipeline to transport Sinopec's Puguang gas from Sichuan Province to the eastern part of the country. The pipeline will have an annual capacity of 12 bcm and will cost 62.7 billion yuan.

Chen Deming, vice-minister of the NDRC, said that to make full use of the pipeline's capacity, Puguang's reserves should be further explored so that it yields 600bcm of natural gas in the next few years.

Chen told China Daily that the gas field's current proven reserves were not enough to support a second pipeline from Sichuan to South China's Guangdong Province. Sinopec is rumored to be planning to pipe Puguang's natural gas to Guangdong as well.

"Of course, if more reserves are located in the region, perhaps one pipeline won't be enough (to transport gas to other parts of the country)," Chen said. He indicated that the reserve potential of the whole region around Puguang is beyond the current estimate.

Puguang in Sichuan had estimated exploitable reserves of 356bcm as of 2006, making it the country's second-largest gas field, according to the Ministry of Land and Resources. The largest, the Sulige Gas Field in the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, has proven reserves of 533.6bcm.

With five sub-pipelines, the 1700-km Sichuan-East China pipeline is designed to feed gas to Sichuan, Hubei, Jiangxi, Anhui, Jiangsu and Zhejiang provinces, Chongqing municipality and ultimately Shanghai, said Cao Yaofeng, vice-president of Sinopec Group.

Wide use of natural gas is a crucial step for China to optimize its energy consumption, enhance energy efficiency and protect the environment, said Chen from the NDRC.

(China Daily September 1, 2007)