Top domestic oil and gas producer PetroChina is stepping up natural gas supplies from domestic and foreign sources to meet demand, parent company CNPC said on Monday.
PetroChina raised April gas supplies by 14 percent from a year earlier, CNPC said on its website, without giving specific volumes.
To prevent another around of winter shortages, State-run PetroChina started in early May to limit gas supplies and hike prices for major customers, including city gas distributors and inland gas liquefaction plants in some western provinces, said four sources briefed on the matter.
China's natural gas consumption rose almost 14 percent in the first four months of the year to 71.1 million tons, according to Reuters calculations based on official data.
That led to a surge in spot liquefied natural gas (LNG) imports in recent weeks and lifted prices to a two-month high of $8.7 per million British thermal units.
PetroChina lifted production in the first four months of this year at major domestic fields in Changqing, Southwest, Tarim and Qinghai by more than 2 percent from a year earlier to 30.5 billion cubic meters (bcm), CNPC said.
PetroChina also raised imports nearly 29 percent during the period.
The company also stepped up storage volumes, adding 1.49 bcm in April, 33 percent more than a year earlier.
It is expected to supply 10 percent more gas from these inventories for next winter's peak demand versus the previous heating season.
