Shanghai - China's government has announced discoveries of new oil deposits that it says will help reduce the country's increasing dependence on imports, amid growing worries over energy security.

The new oil finds, discovered using technology developed by Chinese scientists, are thought to include oil deposits totaling hundreds of millions of tons, said Tao Jinsong, an official with the Ministry of Science and Technology's propaganda department, on Tuesday.

Most of the new finds so far are located in the Shengli oil field in northeast China, one of the country's biggest oil-producing regions.

The discoveries were made by China Petroleum and Chemical Corporation, or Sinopec, with government support, in fault lines near currently exploited oil deposits, Tao told The Associated Press. His comments confirmed a report in the state-run newspaper China Daily.

Since they are located in faults, the size of the deposits would not be as large as those found in places like Iraq and Kuwait, though the amount discovered was still significant, Tao said.

Altogether 600 million metric tons (660 million short tons) of oil deposits have been identified in 12 different locations. Two 100-million-metric-ton (110 million short ton) newly found oil fields had already begun production, he added.

Some of those discoveries were previously reported. The China
Daily report said the most recent discoveries were thought to include oil deposits totaling up to 280 million tons (308 million short tons).

"These new discoveries have eased our anxiety over oil shortages," the newspaper cited Yan Jisheng, a ministry official in charge of natural resources, as saying.

"We know we have more oil deposits to support the country's long-term economic development," Yan said.

Output at Shengli and at China's biggest oilfield, Daqing, has begun to decline after decades of production, adding to worries that after decades of virtual self-sufficiency in energy the country is becoming too dependent on oil imports.

Tao said scientists were also working to develop new extraction methods to increase the amount of oil that can be pumped from each deposit.

"Normally we're able to claim 30 percent of the reserve from each well," Tao said.

China imported 97.4 million metric tons (107.1 million short tons) of oil in 2003, an increase of 30 percent over the previous year. Imports are expected to rise to 100 million metric tons (110 million short tons) this year, against total demand of 270 million metric tons (297 million short tons).

Domestic production has begun to plateau. Crude oil output in 2003 was 169.3 million metric tons (186.2 million short tons), up from 166.9 million metric tons (183.6 million short tons) in 2002
and 164.9 million metric tons (181.3 million short tons) in 2001, the China Daily report said.

With government encouragement, major Chinese oil companies like Sinopec and offshore giant CNOOC have been acquiring overseas oil and gas fields to help assure secure supplies. - Sapa-AP