Crude oil output in China's top oilfield, Daqing, fell 3.5 percent year on year to 48.4 million tonnes in 2003, the lowest level in nearly three decades, the official People's Daily reported on Saturday.
It was the first time since 1976 that production at the north-eastern oilfield, owned by oil major PetroChina Corp, has fallen below 50 million tonnes, the newspaper said.
Daqing had planned to cut oil output in 2004 by a further two million tonnes from 2003 because of "diminishing resources" after four decades of production, state media have reported.
The oilfield is making efforts to unearth new reserves in nearby areas, aiming to add 500 million tonnes of proven oil reserves and 100 billion cubic metres of natural gas reserves over the next few years, the newspaper said.
In 2003, it made a significant find in the Haila'er area of neighbouring Inner Mongolia, which was expected to have an annual oil production of one million tonnes by 2005.
Oil production from China's north-eastern and eastern oilfields has dwindled. Soaring energy demand driven by strong economic growth has forced domestic oil companies to look both at home and abroad for new oil and gas supplies.
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