China's No. 2 oilfield output to edge up in 2008

Sinopec Corp <0386.hk>'s Shengli oilfield, China's second-largest crude producer, aims to produce 27.85 million tonnes of crude this year (557,000 barrels per day), 0.5 percent above last year, state media reported.

This will be the tenth straight year for the Shengli field to maintain steady output, Economic Daily said, as China, the world's second-largest oil consumer, battles declining domestic reserves while fuelling its rapid economic expansion.

The targetted 2008 increase at Shengli is slower than the one percent growth logged in 2007. Shengli accounts for 15 percent of China's total output.

Sinopec Corp, China's second-largest oil and gas producer after PetroChina <0857.hk>, also plans to pump 800 million cubic metres this year (80 million cubic feet per day), the paper said.

Exploration and production work will be focused on boosting recovery rates and heavy, low-grade oil, it added.

Shengli, located mostly onshore in eastern Shandong province, started production more than 40 years ago. It is expected to remain a key national field, with output over 200,000 bpd through 2064, a top Shengli executive told Reuters said last October.