A key pipeline from China to Myanmar is set to become operational later this year.
A 1,000km-long oil and gas pipeline that runs from the west coast of Myanmar to Ruili, Yunnan province, is slated to begin operations by May this year. The line is part of Beijing’s “new strategic energy” plan, which looks to its neighbours to help shore-up China’s future energy resources.
Gao Jianguo, who heads the CNPC-supervised project, reported that production had been “sped up on the pipelines’ domestic and overseas sections” to ensure the pipeline opens by June at the latest.
The oil pipeline will deliver crude shipped from the Middle East via the Indian Ocean, and will have an annual transport capacity of about 22 million tons. The gas section will be able to deliver around 12 billion cubic metres a year.
China is already seeing the benefits of another 1,000km pipeline, with its Sino-Russian channel delivering 30m tonnes of crude in its first two years of operation.