Published 25th October, 2012
One of China's major energy players has broken ground on the third West-East pipeline aimed at boosting gas imports from central Asia.
Work begins on the CNPC pipeline Image: CNPC |
China National Petroleum Corp (CNPC) has begun construction of a third cross-country gas pipeline which is estimated to cost 125 billion yuan ($19.93 billion). The pipeline will begin in western Xinjiang province and will end in China's coastal Fujian province, spanning more than 5,000km and with the capacity to transport 30 billion cubic metres (bcm) per annum.
The pipeline is slated to come online sometime in 2015 and will help China diversify its energy imports. Russia and China have been deep in pipeline talks for some time, as Moscow is keen to push through a 68bcm per year gas deal. China's current pipeline capacity falls slightly short of Russian supply, however, at 47bcm per year.