OREANDA-NEWS. May 25, 2011. China should straighten out natural g as prices as the domestic natural gas prices currently represent merel y 30 percent of the prices of oil with the same heat value, Shanghai S ecurities News quoted Jiang Jiemin, chairman of China National Petrole um Corporation (CNPC), the largest oil and gas producer in China, as s aying on Thursday.

According to global practice, natural gas prices generally equal to 60 percent of the prices of oil with the same heat amount, he poin ted out.

CNPC, parent of PetroChina (PTR.NYSE; 601857.SH; 0857.HK), will give priority to the development of natural gas in the 12th Five-Year Plan period (from 2011 to 2015), in a bid to facilitate the country's goal on changing its primary energy (OOTC:PENGF) mix and cutting emissions, said Ji ang.

Natural gas takes a less than 4 percent share in China's primary energy mix, lagging far behind the global level of 24 percent, he add ed.

As its own output cannot meet its demand, China has to import na tural gas from other countries. However, the price of natural gas impo rted from Central Asia is inversely related to the domestic natural ga s price.

China holds vast potential in the development of shale gas, said Jiang. The development of shale gas will produce a significant impact on the domestic natural gas market, he believed.

CNPC has made major headways in the development of coal bed meth ane (CBM), shale gas and tight gas, said Jiang. The company will becom e a major player in the development of CBM technologies and standards and step up the development of tight gas in Turpan and Hami in northwe st China Xinjiang, he added.