PetroChina sets 2008 production targets

Asia's top oil and gas producer, PetroChina Co Ltd<601857><857> expects to raise its domestic crude oil production by nearly 1% and domestic natural gas output by 18% this year, a top official with the company said on Friday.

Its domestic oil output totaled 107.64 million tones last year, while natural gas production stood at 54.2 billion cubic meters in the same period, company Vice President Jia Chengzao said when attending the annual parliament session in Beijing.

The construction of a crude oil storage with a holding capacity of 1 million cubic meters has started and is expected to be completed by the year end, the oil giant said in a statement last Friday, adding that the project will involve an investment of RMB 865 million.