China's CNPC aims for 23pct rise in '07 gas output

SHANGHAI, Dec 23 (Reuters) State oil giant China National Petroleum Corp. (CNPC) is shooting for a 23 percent rise in its natural gas output in 2007 to meet the country's fast-growing energy demand, the Shanghai Securities News said on Saturday.

CNPC, the parent of Hong Kong and New York-listed PetroChina , is expected to pump 44 billion cubic metres of natural gas in 2006, up 20.5 percent, the official newspaper said.

The output target for 2007 had been set at 54 billion cubic metres, up 22.7 percent, the newspaper said. Its annual output would rise further to 65.8 billion cubic metres in 2010, it said.

CNPC's gas fields in the country's northwest and southwest account for the lion's share of its overall gas output, it said.

''China's natural gas market is taking off from a low base. It is currently experiencing an explosive growth in demand,'' the newspaper said, adding that state oil companies were also scrambling to secure liquefied natural gas imports.

Production from CNPC's ageing oil fields is sagging and it is counting on natural gas to help drive growth.

China, the world's second largest energy consumer, imports more than 40 percent of its oil needs and is boosting natural gas use as part of a drive to cut back its reliance on dirty coal.

It aims to more than double the share of gas in the country's energy mix to 8 percent by 2010.

REUTERS DKS PM1335