China National Petroleum Corp., PetroChina's parent firm, said Monday it has suffered $254.9 million in direct economic losses from the Sichuan earthquake last week.

About 908 PetroChina gas stations were at least partially damaged, and 65 had to be closed because of severe damage.

While the majority of fuel services have been restored, according to officials, the losses were substantial, China Daily reported.

CNPC's oil and gas fields, refining plants and oil pipeline in the Sichuan, Shaanxi and Gansu provinces were affected. Five employees were killed and 44 others injured. Ten others remain missing.

CNPC has been supplying oil to the quake-hit regions via tank trucks and mobile fuel tankers. It has transported about 100,000 tons of refined oil to Sichuan province from northeast and east China, and its daily gas output reached 99 percent of its full capacity in Sichuan province, which accounts for nearly one-fourth of its total all across the country.

Initial estimates for earthquake damage suggest that 14,207 industrial enterprises suffered direct economic losses, said Vice Minister of Industry and Information Technology Xi Guohua.

India's Oil and Natural Gas Corp. is likely to see a drop in oil and gas production.

The largest fields ONGC has, offshore near Mumbai, are expected to fall by 2012 because of a natural decline in the 20-year-old fields, Hindu News reported.

Crude oil production from Mumbai High field is slated to dip to 10.4 million tons in 2011 and 2012 from 12.1 million tons in 2007 and 2008, a company official said.

Mumbai High oil field, which contributed 45 percent of ONGC's 25.94 million tons of crude oil production in 2007, is likely to produce 12.4 million tons this year before the decline begins, as companies use profits from high oil prices to invest in new production.

ONGC's total crude oil output this fiscal year is expected to increase to 27 million tons, with the company bringing to production new and marginal fields, and it could rise to 29 million tons next year before dipping to 27.4 million tons in 2011.

Gas production from Bassein and its Satellite fields is also expected to drop, to about 13.8 million standard cubic meters per day in 2011 from 27.5 million cubic meters a day in 2007 because reservoir pressure at the gas field has declined with continuous production for more than 20 years, officials said. Gas output from Bassein field accounts for 45 percent of ONGC's gas production.

Italy's Eni announced it is investing in oil in Congo.

From 2008 to 2011 Eni will invest $3 billion in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, generating an expected equity production of 150 million barrels of oil equivalent, mostly from the tar sands there.

Eni has developed its operations in the country through collaboration with Congolese authorities.

The Eni model of cooperation combines the traditional activities of hydrocarbon exploration and production with sustainability and important initiatives with unconventional and renewable sources.

Eni has reached an agreement for the exploration and exploitation of non-conventional oil in tar sands in Tchikatanga and Tchikatanga-Makola, two areas that show enormous potential. According to preliminary studies, recoverable reserves are estimated at 2.5 billion barrels.

The agreement will allow Eni to consolidate its unique skills in tar sands, taking advantage of proprietary Eni Slurry Technology for improvement of the quality of heavy oils.

The Memorandum of Understanding on the Food Plus Biodiesel project outlines a framework for collaboration in the use of vegetable oils from palm tree cultivation. The approved land is expected to produce approximately 340,000 tons of crude palm oil per year, enough to cover domestic demand for food uses, and 250,000 tons of biodiesel per year.

Eni also will help to build a new power station.

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Closing oil prices, May 20, 3 p.m. London

Brent crude oil: $124.32

West Texas Intermediate crude oil: $127.53

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(e-mail: energy@upi.com)