China will strengthen its exploration of key resources like oil, gas and coal to support its growth, a senior official said yesterday.

Vice Premier Zeng Peiyan said the country's exploration work of mineral resources achieved new progress with a number of large oil and gas fields found in recent years.

He was addressing the 25th session of National People's Congress's (NPC) 10th Standing Committee yesterday, at which a work report on the subject was tabled for discussion.

Eight large-scale oil fields with proven reserves of more than 100 million tons have been discovered, in Tahe, Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, and Penglai in east China's Shandong Province.

Five gasfields, with an estimated reserve of more than 100 billion cubic meters, were discovered in Puguang in the Sichuan Province, and Sulige in Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region.

A series of large and medium size non-ferrous mines have been found in west China.

And the net increase of the newly discovered coal reserves was 18.8 billion tons in the 10th Five-Year Plan period (2000-2005).

Zeng said the country has increased construction speed of energy bases. Oil and gas development bases have been set up in Tarim, Xinjiang and Bohai Bay, and coal bases in Shanxi, Inner Mongolia and Shaanxi Provinces.

The country's output of coal and iron ore has doubled compared with five years ago.

The work of regulating and integrating the development of mineral resources has seen good results with more than 8,000 small and illegal mines closed and nearly 20,000 suspended.

He said that key resources, like oil, gas, coal and iron ore, would be given priority in future exploration work.

The country has spent 2 billion yuan (US$250 million) in mineral exploration funds this year and will inject more in the future, he said.

Already the world's second-largest oil consumer and second-largest oil importer, China's demand is forecast to more than double by 2025.

And coal still accounts for 70 percent of the country's energy consumption.

"By 2010, we hope to form a number of important strategic mineral resources bases in the west and make breakthroughs in exploration work in the east and in the middle part of the country," he said.

Zeng said the country would speed up the development of oil and gas in the deep sea and newly discovered fields on shore to increase oil and gas output.

The country will also speed up the construction of 13 big coal bases with the target of producing about 100 billion tons.

In another development, President Hu Jintao yesterday called for more efforts in building an energy-efficient and environmentally friendly society.

Production that seriously pollutes the environment and consumes resources must be eliminated, and public awareness of energy saving and environmental protection must be raised, he said.

(China Daily December 27, 2006)