Daqing of Heilongjiang Province, where China's top oilfield is
located, will be transformed from a resource-dependent industrial
city to a broad-based industrial powerhouse, according to the
nation's top economic planner.
"The Daqing city government has made it crystal clear that the
top priority for Daqing's industrial transformation is to further
develop its downstream follow-up industries. And the first choice
naturally lies in the oil and petrochemical industrial segment,"
the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC), China's top
economic regulator, said on its website yesterday.
By the end of the country's 11th Five-Year Plan (2006-10),
Daqing aims to build its petrochemical industry to 120 - 130
billion yuan of industrial output. And the city is set to have 1.2
million tons of ethylene capacity, 450,000 tons of propylene output
and 1 million tons of fertilizer-making capability, according to
the NDRC.
Sources from the China National Petroleum Corporation (CNPC),
the nation's top oil company, said Daqing was constructing a
world-class propylene and petrochemical production base. The CNPC's
listed arm PetroChina operates the Daqing oilfield and the
petrochemical industry there.
"All-round development of the Daqing oilfield, including the
development of the downstream petrochemical segment and other
primary, second and tertiary industries there, is the key for
maintaining sustainable growth," the CNPC quoted Premier Wen Jiabao
as saying on its website.
The second category of Daqing's follow-up industry should be
agricultural product processing, with the city's output value of
the corn, soybean and potato processing industries hitting 50
billion yuan by 2010. The third and fourth follow-up industries for
Daqing are mechanics and electronics manufacturing, according to
the NDRC.
"The CNPC has set up a mechanics and equipment manufacturing
base in Daqing with output value of 10 billion yuan The annual sale
of the fourth follow-up industry, electronics manufacturing, plus
rubber and leather processing, is expected to reach another 10
billion yuan," the NDRC said.
Daqing is China's largest oilfield, with current annual
production of about 45 million tons oil equivalent. The CNPC's
long-term target is to level off Daqing's production at 42 million
tons oil equivalent by 2010, when natural gas is expected to
contribute 9.5 percent of the total output.
"Given that oil production at Daqing oilfield is decreasing
gradually, it is necessary to further develop follow-up industries
at Daqing to maintain sustainable development," said Han Xuegong, a
senior analyst with the CNPC.
Han said it was an ideal option to develop oil-dependent
downstream industries in Daqing. Some of the oil-dependent
follow-up industries, such as petrochemical manufacturing, will
benefit from the immediate availability of oil and gas resources
from Daqing.
The development of other industrial segments in Daqing, such as
mechanical equipment manufacturing, will spur Daqing's oil and gas
production industry, Han said.
"Therefore it is a win-win situation for both oil production and
follow-up industry development," Han added.
(China Daily April 6, 2007)