BEIJING (AFP) -- China's largest but fast-depleting oil field Daqing is increasingly relying on natural gas to maintain production levels, state media said Tuesday.

The field, located in north China's Heilongjiang province, is pinning its hopes on newly discovered deep gas reserves that may be made accessible with new technologies, the China Daily reported.

"Natural gas will be an important driving force to stabilize Daqing's oil production," said the National Development and Reform Commission, the top planning agency, according to the paper.

The oil field operators hope to make natural gas account for 9.5 percent of its output in 2010, and 22.5 percent in 2020, the paper said. It did not give the current percentage.

By late 2005, proven gas reserves at Daqing hit 400 billion cubic meters (14 trillion cubic feet), but if reserves deeper underground are included, the figure could be four times as large, according to the paper.

Daqing, which achieved near-mythical status in the early years of communist rule as an example of the Maoist can-do spirit, has been struggling with fears that it might be gradually exhausting its oil reserves.

Apart from keeping Daqing in business, the increased reliance on gas also fits into China's overall energy strategies.

Natural gas is a priority for the Chinese government, bemoaning the fact that it accounts for just three percent of fossil fuel consumption in China, compared with 20 percent globally, according to the paper.