CNPC to enhance pipeline
By Wang Yu (China Daily)
Updated: 2006-09-07 09:10 To satisfy the ever-growing
demand for natural gas, China National Petroleum Corp (CNPC) plans to invest 4.3
billion yuan (US$540 million) to enhance the capacity of the West-East Gas
Pipeline.
The pipeline's capacity will be increased from 12 billion cubic metres (bcm)
to 17 bcm per year.
The capacity-boosting project will raise the number of pumping stations along
the line from the current 10 to 22. Most of the existing facilities will also be
expanded, said CNPC, China's top oil and gas producer.
As parent company of overseas-listed PetroChina, CNPC contributed 70 per cent
of China's 50 bcm natural gas production last year.
The capacity enhancing project has already started and by the end of the year
six new pumping stations will be completed and the pipeline's capacity will be
increased to 15 bcm.
Experts predict that given China's rapid economic development, the demand for
natural gas will continue to rise, reaching 30 bcm next year. And the current
capacity of the West-East Gas Pipeline will not be sufficient to meet the
requirement.
"It is an unavoidable trend for the capacity of West-East Gas Pipeline to be
enhanced. The country's thirst for cheap natural gas will definitely grow as the
oil price keeps surging and environmental concerns prevail," an analyst
commented.
The expert is confident that with China hammering out more gas import deals
with Russia and locating more domestic gas resources, supplies for the added
capacity of the pipeline are guaranteed.
CNPC is close to sealing a deal with Moscow-based Gazprom to build two
pipelines to transport up to 68 bcm gas from Russia to China annually. The
western line, from Russia's West Siberia to China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous
Region will reportedly connect with the West-East Gas Pipeline.
China is committed to raising the ratio of natural gas in its total energy
consumption from the current 3 to 5 per cent to between 8 and 10 per cent by
2010.
The West-East Gas Pipeline pipes natural gas from resource-rich western China
to the energy-thirsty east.
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