June 9, 2007 -- Senior Chinese Petroleum officials said the company will invest 30 billion yuan (US$ 3.87 billion) this year towards the development of oil and gas resources in Xinjiang, as reported by the state-owned Xinjiang News Network.

According to the agency, Xinjiang holds 30 percent of China's land-based oil and 34 percent of the country's natural gas reserves. Construction will take place in Karamay, Urumqi, Turpan, Hami, and Tarim petrochemical bases. The agency encourages outside investors to participate in the development of downstream petrochemical products.

Last year, crude oil and natural gas production reached 20.69 million tons and 20.2 billion cubic meters. Output reached the oil equivalent of 36.79 million tons. According to statistics, China National Petroleum and China Petrochemical Group have invested over 68.6 billion yuan (US$ 8.8 billion) in Xinjiang's oil exploration projects since 2005.