URUMQI, April 16 (Xinhua) -- The Tarim oilfield in northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region has seen its total output exceed 300 million tonnes of oil equivalent by mid April, PetroChina Tarim Oilfield Company said Monday.

The huge amount of crude oil and natural gas produced since the firm's establishment in 1989 has played a key role in safeguarding the country's energy security and promoting social and economic growth in Xinjiang, it said.

As China's third-largest onshore oil and gas producer, its annual output had increased to 25.4 million tonnes of oil equivalent in 2017 from 33,900 tonnes in 1989.

In 2017, the Tarim oilfield reported a natural gas output of about 25.3 billion cubic meters. Meanwhile, its petroleum production hit 5.2 million tonnes.

The oilfield's crude and gas output accounted for nearly one-seventh of PetroChina's domestic production and it also contributed to one-sixth of China's total domestic gas output.

By 2017, the Tarim oilfield had sent over 200 billion cubic meters of natural gas to the country's bustling east through a 4,000-km pipeline project.

Tarim's natural gas reserves account for 22 percent of China's total.

The oilfield plans to increase its annual output to 30 million tonnes of oil equivalent in 2020. Helped by the growing output of Tarim Oilfield, PetroChina plans to increase its total output in Xinjiang to 50 million tonnes of oil equivalent.