CNPC produces 2.06 mln bpd of crude in H1 -report

BEIJING, July 17 - China National Petroleum Corporation (CNPC) produced 51.04 million tonnes, or 2.06 million barrels per day, of crude oil in the first half of this year and processed 58.76 million tonnes during the same period, Xinhua news agency reported late Thursday.

The report did not give percentage changes.

Crude output at overseas wells it operated totaled 31.39 million tonnes and gas production 3.9 billion cubic metres, Xinhua said, citing Jiang Jiemin, CNPC's general manager and chairman of listed PetroChina <0857.HK><601857.SS>, which operates CNPC's core businesses.

It did not say how much of the overseas output CNPC was entitled to. CNPC normally operates overseas oil and gas fields with foreign partners under product sharing contracts.

Jiang was quoted as saying in a separate Xinhua report that Chinese oil firms and consumers were increasingly affected by the international oil futures market, which China has little control over despite half of domestic oil demand being met by imports.

CNPC will build three oil and gas operational centres in Asia, Europe and America, respectively, to develop resources and expand trade volumes and gradually improve its influence in the international oil market, Jiang told a company conference on July 16.

CNPC aims to double its oil and gas output to 400 million tonnes of oil equivalent in 8-10 years and raise oil and gas production in overseas fields it operates to half that level.

Meanwhile, it plans to increase its international oil and gas trade volumes to more than 400 million tonnes, more than half of which will be imports, the Xinhua report said.