PetroChina's Dina-2 oilfield with proven geological natural gas reserves of 175.2 billion cubic meters has begun operations, and will serve as a new gas source for PetroChina's West-to-East pipeline, said PetroChina Tarim Company.

The Dina-2 oilfield in the Tarim basin is expected to annually produce five billion cubic meters of natural gas. The hefty amount takes up 41.67 percent of the company's first West-to-East pipeline capacity of 12 million cubic meters.

Taking Dina-2 into account, the Tarim basin will be able to annually produce 20 billion cubic meters of gas.

One PetroChina official requesting anonymity had previously told media that PetroChina is working on a plan to build the fourth West-to-East pipeline fueled by the Tarim Basin's gas feedstock.

PetroChina is now laying its second West-to-East pipeline with an annual capacity of 30 billion cubic meters from Xinjiang to southern Guangdong province, with gas sources from Turkmenistan.

The third West-to-East pipeline, which has concluded its planning period, follows a parallel course to the second and is sourced in central Asia.