Sinopec says it has found what is believed to be the country's largest natural gas field in Sichuan Province, the South China Morning Post reported. Recoverable gas reserves at the Puguang gas field were estimated at 251.08 billion cubic meters at the end of last year, based on an assessment carried out by the Ministry of Land and Resources. Commercial production can start straight away, with output forecast to hit 4 billion cubic meters annually by 2008, and 8 billion cubic meters from 2010. The company announced over the weekend that net profit gained 23% last year, based on domestic accounting standards. Sales grew from US$73.7 billion to US$99.7 billion, with net profit reaching US$4.9 billion.
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