LANZHOU - The Changbei gas field, a joint venture between PetroChina and Royal Dutch Shell PLC, produced a record-high 3.5 billion cubic meters of gas in 2011, making it China's largest on-shore gas project in cooperation with a foreign partner.

The project has produced 18.33 billion cubic meters of gas since it started operating in 2005, said Tang Jiaqing, an official with the Changqing oil field, which operates the Changbei field.

The venture produced 3.48 billion cubic meters of gas in 2010.

Changbei, a major gas supplier to Beijing, is located in the Ordos Basin, which stretches across northwestern Shaanxi Province and Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region. It covers an area of 1,588 square km.

The reserve is estimated to contain 96.1 billion cubic meters of gas, and the venture plans to pump out 48 billion cubic meters in 20 years since 2005, Tang said.