China's largest natural gas base ramps up production amid cold wave

File photo shows a PetroChina staff working on a purification equipment in an oil-gas reservoir in Suining, southwest China's Sichuan Province. (Xinhua/Zhong Min)

CHENGDU, Jan. 8 (Xinhua) -- Natural gas producers in the Sichuan Basin, China's largest natural gas base, are stepping up their production capacities to deal with the cold wave sweeping across the country.

In southwest China's Sichuan Province and Chongqing Municipality, located in the Sichuan Basin, urban gas consumption has risen from 50 million cubic meters per day to 70 million cubic meters per day, a 40 percent increase from the peak of the same period last year, according to the PetroChina Southwest Oil and Gasfield Company, one of the major energy developers in the basin.

The company has been implementing a series of measures since last November to increase capacity and supply gas to cities, maintaining its daily natural gas production at above 102 million cubic meters.

Citizens walk in snow in Chengdu, southwest China's Sichuan Province, Jan. 7, 2021. (Xinhua/Liu Mengqi)

The Weirong shale gas field in Sichuan on Wednesday completed the construction of the first phase of its annual production capacity expansion, expanding 1 billion cubic meters, according to a branch of Sinopec, China's largest oil refiner.

The gas field currently produces 3.5 million cubic meters of gas per day, which can meet the daily needs of about 7 million households at most. When fully completed in 2022, it is expected to have an annual output of 3 billion cubic meters, which can meet the annual needs of 16 million households.

Data shows that the Sichuan Basin produced about 56.5 billion cubic meters of natural gas in 2020, an increase of 6 billion cubic meters from 2019 and accounting for 52 percent of the national increase in natural gas.

资料照片显示，在中国西南部四川省遂宁，一名中石油员工正在一处油气储层的净化设备上工作。钟(新华社/钟民)

成都，1月8日(新华社)——四川盆地的天然气生产商，中国最大的天然气基地，正在加强他们的生产能力，以应对席卷全国的寒潮。

在中国西南部的四川省和重庆市,位于四川盆地,城市天然气消费已从每天5000万立方米每天7000万立方米,增长40%从去年同期的高峰期,根据中石油西南石油和天然气田公司,盆地的主要能源开发商之一。

自去年11月以来，该公司一直在实施一系列措施，以增加产能和向城市供应天然气，使其每日天然气产量保持在1.02亿立方米以上。

据中国最大炼油企业中石化(Sinopec)的一家分公司介绍，四川威荣页岩气田周三完成了年度产能扩建一期工程的建设，将产能扩大10亿立方米。

目前，该气田日产气350万立方米，最多可满足700万户左右的日常需求。2022年全面建成后，预计年产量将达到30亿立方米，可满足1600万户家庭的年需求。

数据显示，四川盆地2020年的天然气产量约为565亿立方米，比2019年增加60亿立方米，占全国天然气增量的52%。