XI'AN, Dec. 20 (Xinhua) -- China's third largest oilfield, Changqing, is expected to post an annual growth of 24 percent in oil and gas output this year, the company said Sunday.

    By Dec. 19, the oil and gas equivalent production at Changqing had exceeded 30 million tonnes, and the figure would reach 31 million by the end of this year, or 6 million more than last year, said Peng Xufeng, a company spokesman.

    Changqing, a subsidiary of PetroChina, is the country's third largest oilfield, after Daqing and Shengli.

    But Peng said he believes Changqing has overtaken Shengli as the second largest oilfield in China, as the annual oil and gas equivalent production at Shengli is less than 30 million tonnes over recent years.

    "We are targeting 50 million tonnes by 2015, thus becoming another 'Daqing'," he said.

    Daqing is also a subsidiary of PetroChina, and Shengli is owned by its rival Sinopec.

    Changqing is located in north China's Ordos Basin, and the company is headquartered in Xi'an, capital of northwestern Shaanxi Province.

    It has a total area of 370,000 square km for exploration, and reports 8.5 billion tonnes of oil resources and 10.7 trillion cubic meters of natural gas.

    So far, it has proven more than 2 billion tonnes of oil reserves and 2.7 trillion cubic meters of gas reserves.

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