Pipeliners

27 August 2007 - Upstream OnLine - PetroChina said today it had settled on the route for a second massive gas pipeline linking its remote north-western region to the coast, as the country firms up plans to bring in gas from Turkmenistan. The pipeline will stretch from the far western border of the Xinjiang region to Guangzhou, capital of southern China's Guangdong province and eastward to end at the financial hub of Shanghai, PetroChina's parent company China National Petroleum Corporation (CNPC) said in a statement published on its website. A feasibility study for the project will be completed by October, with the piped pencilled in to carry about 30 billion cubic metres of gas per year from Turkmenistan, CNPC said. It did not give a value for the investment, but the country's first cross-country gas pipeline, the 4000 kilometre West-to-East project, cost $5 billion. CNPC said PetroChina would be the sole investor. The pipeline will span 4859 kilometres long, and including the branch lines, will cover more than 7000 kilometres, CNPC said. First gas is targeted for as early as 2009.