China's Sinopec Discovers Oil, Gas In Xinjiang, Sichuan
China Petrochemical Corp., or Sinopec Group, the country's largest refiner by capacity and second largest oil and gas producer by output, has discovered oil and gas in China's northwestern Xinjiang region and Sichuan province in the southwest, the company said Tuesday on its Web site. In the Tahe field in Xinjiang, Sinopec drilled exploration well AD4, which is producing 1,018 metric tons of crude a day, or 7,462 barrels a day, the highest yield from a single well in the field, it said. The well's rich output is an indication of potentially large oil and gas reserves in the Tahe field, it said, without providing an estimate. The field is a major contributor to Sinopec's output, accounting for about 13% of its total crude oil production as of mid-2006. Some analysts say Tahe might in the future rival Daqing - the country's largest oil field - in output. China Petroleum & Chemical Corp. (SNP), or Sinopec, the listed unit of Sinopec Group, said in February it expected to produce 14% more crude oil this year in Xinjiang at 5.36 million metric tons or 107,641 barrels a day...