(Yicai Global) Jan. 29 -- State-backed energy giant China National Petroleum Corp. (CNPC) plans to further expand its oilfields in the Tarim Basin in China's northwestern Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region by raising annual production by five million tons based on the existing 25 million tons and thus attain an advanced world level of annual output capacity by 2020.

To this end, CNPC has accelerated the development and deployment of the oilfields in the basin. Over 100 exploitation wells and 17 exploratory wells have finished well deployment in this oilfield, making up more than 75 percent of the total planned construction this year, state Xinhua News Agency reported today. The field is also advancing its digital transformation. A total of 18 new wells came into operation via Big Data analysis by the end of January, which was six more than planned.

Annual output in Xinjiang will reach 50 million tons in future, among which the Tarim oilfields will comprise 60 percent of total capacity, while the increment will represent 80 percent of the entire region's.

CNPC set up a branch in the area in 1989. The latest proven resource data indicates oil reserves may reach eight billion tons and natural gas ten trillion cubic meters there, public data show.