China National Petroleum Corp said its oil and gas output grew to a record high of over 200 million metric tons of oil equivalent in 2020, with its gas output reaching over 100 million tons of oil equivalent last year. The company said its gas output surpassed crude oil for the first time in its history.The company will continuously focus on the development of natural gas for building a clean and low-carbon energy system and protecting the environment, said CNPC.

Zou Caineng, an academician at the Chinese Academy of Sciences, said the company's gas output surpassing that of crude for the first time illustrates that China's oil industry has entered a new development phase of steady oil output and increasing gas output－contrasting with the past when oil was king.

CNPC's oil and gas outputs account for 50 percent and 70 percent of the national totals for the energy commodities, respectively, constituting a main player in guaranteeing national energy security. It has set record in proven oil and gas geological reserves during the past five years, said the company.

Its Changqing oilfield, China's largest oil and gas field, produced over 60 million tons of oil equivalents of crude oil and natural gas in 2020, hitting a record high. Its southwestern oil and gas field has also continuously improved efficiency and produced 30 billion cubic meters of shale gas, becoming the country's most productive shale gas field ever.

Insiders said China's oil companies should focus on the cleaner option of natural gas amid transition toward a greener energy mix, as the country remains heavily reliant on oil and gas imports.

"PetroChina is fulfilling its commitment to ramp up gas output, with more than 130 billion cu m of gas production in 2020," said Li Ziyue, an analyst with BloombergNEF.

"The company is pivoting to the development of gas, which can both reduce emissions intensity and import dependency."

China's dependence on crude oil imports has been growing in recent years, with the world's top oil importer covering 73 percent of its oil demand with imports and that for gas reaching 46 percent.

Li said natural gas remains a growth pillar for China's national oil companies as they endeavor to go green.

PetroChina is committed to promoting gas capacity build-out and shale gas development.

Sinopec and CNOOC also plan to increase gas output, while maintaining stable oil production at home, she said.

In 2020, PetroChina also promoted its exploitation capacity with a new focus on improving quality and efficiency, a step that led to rapid growth in crude oil and natural gas output.

Since 2016, the company has developed 13 natural gas fields with output above 1 billion cu m each. The natural gas it produced last year was equivalent to the energy produced by burning 173 million tons of coal and the elimination of 184 million tons of carbon dioxide, it said.