Eric Watkins
Senior Correspondent

LOS ANGELES, July 31 -- PetroChina has successfully transported its first shipment of crude oil along the 963-km China-Kazakhstan pipeline to its oil tank farm and refinery in northwestern Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region.

The arrival of the oil July 29 marks the full commercial operation for China's first cross-country crude pipeline.

The 10-million tonnes/year pipeline originates at Atasu in west Kazakhstan, enters China at Alashankou port on the Sino-Kazakhstan border, and terminates at PetroChina's Dushanzi Petrochemical Co. site.

Contact Eric Watkins at hippalus@yahoo.com.