CHINA'S top oil company, PetroChina, plans to double annual natural gas output from 2010 to 2015 at its Xinjiang field to meet demand for the cleaner-burning fuel.

PetroChina aims to produce 5 billion cubic meters of gas at the field in northwestern China by 2010, and 10 billion cubic meters in three to five years after that, parent China National Petroleum Corp said yesterday.

"For the Xinjiang field, this will mean a historic leap from a large oil field to a large oil and gas field," Beijing-based CNPC said on its Website.

With crude oil, PetroChina plans to pump more than 15 million metric tons from the Xinjiang field in the three to five years after 2010, according to the CNPC statement.

PetroChina rose 4.82 percent to HK$11.3 (US$1.45) in Hong Kong trading and was up 3.19 percent at 16.52 yuan (US$2.36) in Shanghai yesterday.

Analysts said the plan heralds more oil and gas field news from PetroChina which would boost its share price.

"We believe this (the plan) is consistent with our view that the oil/gas field appraisal results due later this year will surprise the market on the upside," CLSA head of China energy research Gordon Kwan wrote in a research note.

In the first quarter, the Xinjiang field produced 2.98 million tons of oil, beating its original target by 2.8 percent, and 861 million cubic meters of natural gas.