Top two oil and gas companies report output growth

The nation's two major oil and gas companies reported growth in oil and natural gas production during the first half of the year.

China National Petroleum Corp (CNPC), the country's largest oil and gas company, reported a year-on-year increase of 1.4 percent in crude oil production during the first half of 2019, having recorded four years of declining output.

Gas production increased 10 percent during the period and accounted for 70.3 percent of the country's total natural gas production. It is the first time its gas output posted double-digit growth in 10 years, the company said in a statement on Thursday.