China: Oil region looks to the future

Daqing, China’s largest oil producer is exploring new income opportunities for the region’s ongoing sustainability.

Since 1959, Daqing has produced about 1.9 billion tons of crude oil. Notably, during the period 1975 to 2002, Daqing maintained an annual oil production of no less than 50 million tons, creating a world record.

Concerns that Daqing was on the verge of depleting its natural resource stocks surfaced when output began to decline in 2003.
But Gai Ruyin, Party secretary of Daqing Committee of the CPC, brushed aside concerns, saying Daqing’s future was more secure since the recent discovery of large oil and gas fields in the region and new “exploitation technology”.

“Our goal is to build a 100-year Daqing oilfield,” he said. “Even on conservative estimates, Daqing could maintain an oil output of no less than 40 million tons until 2020 and still be the number one taxpayer in China.”

China Daily