China announced the discovery of what it said may be its largest undersea natural gas reserves on Thursday, adding a potential source as the country strains to cope with climbing energy consumption. China s Ministry of Land and Resources estimated that the reserves, in the northern part of the South China Sea, exceed 100 billion cubic metres.

It said the gas was found in a prospect well numbered LW 3-1-1 in the Zhujiangkou basin about 250 km from Hong Kong, at a depth of 1,480 metres. "This may well be our country s largest undersea natural gas discovery," the announcement said, noting that prospectors struck a layer of gas 56 metres thick.

The report on the ministry website (mlr.gov.cn) said the reserve was Chinas first deep water prospect well with a drilling depth of more than 1,000 meters. It said the discovery would "massively boost" China s confidence in prospecting for oil and gas in the area. The find "proves that the deep seas of our country s South China Sea possess considerable oil and gas resource potential," the ministrys report said.

China has identified its seabeds as the next frontier in the search for the energy it needs to fuel growth. A recent policy paper put underwater hydrocarbons, already providing around one-fifth of output, at the heart of plans to boost reserves. But with much underwater area already well mapped, some of the most tempting sites for new finds lie hundreds of metres below the surface in areas where the China National Offshore Oil Company (CNOOC) Ltd. is ill-equipped to hunt.

"This has given a major impetus to our countrys oil and gas resource exploration, exploitation and production," the ministry announcement said.
(Planet Ark, 14/07/2006)