China produced 16.9 Bcm of domestic natural gas in November, equivalent to 563 million cu m/day, the highest daily output recorded, S&P Global Platts calculations based on data released on Dec. 15 by the National Bureau of Statistics showed.
The country also saw 16.9 Bcm of natural gas production in March this year, but it was only equivalent to 545 million cu m/d, as March has one more day than November.
November natural gas production was up by 3.7% from October, the third consecutive month-on-month rise. It was also 11.8% higher from a year-ago level, the data showed.
China has gradually increased its production volumes since September with the full recovery of domestic demand as well as more available storage capacity, market sources said.
The country's December natural gas production is expected to rise further as state-owned oil and gas giant PetroChina on Dec. 15 announced that annual gas output from its Southwest oil and gas field exceeded 30 Bcm on Dec. 14, up nearly 5 Bcm year on year.
"Daily gas production from the Southwest oil and gas field has reached 102 Mcm, a record high," a senior executive with the oil field said on China Central Television Dec. 14. "Our natural gas production is expected to reach 50 Bcm/year in 2025, and 80 Bcm/year in 2030."
Over January-November, China produced 170.2 Bcm of natural gas, up 9.3% year on year, NBS data showed. This is slightly higher than the 9.2% year-on-year growth reported during the same period in 2019.
At its current pace, China is expected to exceed its 2019 gas production volume and hit a new annual record in 2020.
China produced 173.6 Bcm of natural gas in 2019, an increase of 9.8%, or 13 Bcm, from the previous year, according to historical data from the NBS.