(Yicai Global) Nov. 27 -- The state-owned oil and gas giant China National Petroleum Corporation (CNPC) has won a bid for two exploration blocks in Kazakhstan with a total area of roughly 4,500 square kilometers. The projects create a favorable environment for the group to improve its resource reserve in this Central Asian country, the CNPC was quoted as saying.

Based on the bidding results issued by the government of Kazakhstan, the two exploration blocks are located in the southward extension area of the 'North Troyes Oilfield,' Aktobe, West Kazakhstan, covering an area of 1.3 times of that of the original exploration project, China's State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission of the State Council (SASAC) announced today. The specific amount of bidding has not been disclosed yet.

Winning the latest bid marks another breakthrough for the CNPC in its business in this resource-rich country following its securing a bid for the 250-square-kilometer exploration block in Kazakhstan last year. Kazakhstan ministry of energy announced the bidding details on July 27 this year, saying that the CNPC has completed the bidding for two exploration blocks on Oct. 26.

Aktobe project is CNPC's first and largest oil and gas production project in Kazakhstan. It has generated an output of over 100 million tons of crude oil so far since the North Troyes Oilfield was discovered in the area.

The CNPC purchased 60.3 percent equity in an oil company in Aktobe in western Kazakhstan in June 1997 and constructed a 3,000-km-long oil pipeline extending from this area to western China.