By the OGJ Online Staff
HOUSTON, Nov. 14 -- Wuhan municipality in Beijing has signed a take-or-pay contract with PetroChina Co. Ltd. for gas from a proposed 5 billion yuan ($600 million) gas pipeline.
A year after the line starts up, Wuhan will use 200 million cu m/year. The municipality will use up to 1.2 billion cu m in 5 years, said PetroChina.
The 760-km, 711-mm pipeline will begin at Zhong Xian, Chongqing, and end at Wuhan, Hubei. Capacity will be 3 billion cu m/year.
The project includes three branches, making the total length 1,400 km: Qianjiang to Changsha, Zhijiang to Xiangfan, and Wuhan to Huangshi. It will supply more than a dozen large and medium-sized cities including Wuhan, Changsha, and Zhuzhou.
The State Development Planning Commission has required gas customers to sign take-or-pay contracts before construction begins. PetroChina has a contract with Xiangfan, Hubei.
The company said its Southwest Oilfield Co. has sufficient reserves in Sichuan and Chongqing to supply the line.