CHINA'S natural gas output rose 6.9 percent year on year to 23.9 billion cubic meters in the third quarter of this year, the country's top economic planner said yesterday.

Natural gas output in the first nine months totaled 74.4 billion cubic meters, up 7 percent from last year, the National Development and Reform Commission said on its website.

Of the country's three oil giants, PetroChina and Sinopec reported stable growth in output from July to September while China National Offshore Oil Corp saw a slower output growth as a result of the oil spill in June, the NDRC said.

Boosted by the operation of the China-Central Asia natural gas pipeline and Jiangsu Rudong LNG projects run by PetroChina, natural gas imports rose to 8.3 billion cubic meters during the period, representing 27 percent of the country's total domestic consumption, the NDRC said.

The country imported a total of 22.5 billion cubic meters of natural gas over the past nine months, an 89 percent surge from a year earlier, the NDRC said.

Source:shanghaidaily