PetroChina says restores a third of quake-hit gas output

BEIJING, May 15 (Reuters) - PetroChina (0857.HK: Quote, Profile, Research), the dominant energy supplier in China's quake-affected southwest, said on Thursday that one third of the affected gas production has been restored.

PetroChina President Jiang Jiemin said the firm also planned 1.5 million tonnes of refined fuel imports in the second quarter to boost domestic inventories.

The firm had to stop production of about 6 million cubic metres of gas per day after a powerful earthquake hammered the gas-rich Sichuan province, which accounts for more than 20 percent of the country's total gas production.

(Reporting by Jim Bai; Editing by Ken Wills)

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