The figure was only slightly above the production target of 41.62 million tonnes of oil, and dropped by almost 4 percent compared with 2006, as the output of this aging large oilfield kept declining.

    Daqing oilfield in Heilongjiang Province produced 43.41 million tonnes of crude oil in 2006, down 3.4 percent from 2005.

    It has been in operation for 47 years, and reached a peak in output in 1975, turning out more than 50 million tonnes a year.

    In 2007 China's oil output was projected to be at 186 million tonnes, up 1.5 percent year-on-year.