"The development of Nanpu is conducive to ensuring China's energy security and the economic and social development of the region," said Jia, chairman of the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference.

The discovery of Nanpu Oilfield, boasting a reserve of one billion tons, or about 7.35 billion barrels, was announced in early May. It was the largest discovery in the country over four decades.

The oilfield lies in the Nanpu block of the CNPC's (China National Petroleum Corporation) Jidong Oilfield in Tangshan City of Hebei Province.

"Bearing in mind the task of ensuring national energy security, we should build Nanpu into a science-oriented and environmentally-friendly oilfield," said Jia.

China's oil dependency, or net oil imports against oil consumption, went up 4.1 percentage points year on year to 47 percent in 2006, according to the Ministry of Commerce.

Last year, the nation produced 183.68 million tons of crude oil, up 1.7 percent, and imported 138.84 million tons, up 16.9 percent. Its oil consumption (crude plus oil products) amounted to 346.55 million tons, up 9.3 percent.