China develops natural gas industry

As of 1981, China was producing some 474.4 billion CF (12.74 billion m/sup 3/)/yr of natural gas from over 60 gas fields, 40 of them in Sichuan Province. The Sichuan gas lies in fractures and solution cavities in limestone and dolomite formations that generally require stimulation. After desulfurization, the gas is used by the steel and chemical industries and for residential heating. Recent discoveries in other areas of China include the Guxinzhuang field in the Bohai-North China basin, where geological conditions favor large gas pools, and the Sebei fields in Qaidam basin, northwest China.