CNPC to boost natural gas output this year

China National Petroleum Corp, the country's biggest oil and gas producer, plans to increase natural gas production this year and maintain crude output near 2015 levels.

Natural gas output will go "higher" and oil production will remain "stable," Deputy General Manager Wang Dongjin was quoted as saying in a statement posted on the company's website. Details weren't provided.

The Beijing-based company has a "limited amount" of money to invest this year and will spend on oil and gas exploration and projects that improve efficiency or promote sales, it said.