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BEIJING -(Dow Jones)- PetroChina Co. (PTR) will double its natural gas output from the Tarim oil field in the northwestern Xinjiang region this year, the Xinhua news agency reported Tuesday, citing a company official.

The company will produce 11.4 billion cubic meters of natural gas this year compared with 5.7 billion cubic meters last year, Xinhua said, citing Jiang Tongwen, president of the Prospecting and Development Institute under Tarim Oilfield Co., a unit of PetroChina.

PetroChina aims to produce 20 billion cubic meters of gas annually from the field by 2010, nearly double this year's output, Sun Longde, general manager of Tarim Oilfield Co., was quoted as saying.

Tarim has proven natural gas reserves of 724.1 billion cubic meters, Xinhua said.

PetroChina transmits gas from Tarim to the country's energy-starving east through the West-to-East Natural Gas pipeline.

-Renya Peng contributed to the story, Dow Jones Newswires; (8610) 6588 5848; renya.peng@dowjones.com

-Edited by George Bernard