Construction commences on China's Zhongxian-Wuhan gas pipeline

PetroChina Co. Ltd. Thursday initiated construction of its 718.9 km Zhongxian-Wuhan natural gas pipeline, the second largest long distance gas transmission pipeline in China after the 3,800 km, 1,016-mm West-East gas pipeline project due for completion in 2004 (OGJ three-part series, starting Mar. 17, 2003, p. 68)

Sept. 2, 2003

2 min read

By OGJ editors

HOUSTON, Sept. 2 -- PetroChina Co. Ltd. Thursday initiated construction of its 718.9 km Zhongxian-Wuhan natural gas pipeline, the second largest long distance gas transmission pipeline in China after the 3,800 km, 1,016-mm West-East gas pipeline project due for completion in 2004 (OGJ three-part series, starting Mar. 17, 2003, p. 68).

The 711-mm diameter mainline, which will have a capacity of 3 billion cu m/year, will transport Sichuan basin gas to Wuhan from Zhongxian, with three spurs: a 210 km Jingzhou-Xiangfan branch; a 340.5 km Qianjiang-Xiangtan offshoot; and a 77.9 km Wuhan-Huangshi spur, making the total pipeline length 1,347.3 km.

The mainline will pass through 16 administrative regions in Chongqing and Hubei. The trunkline and the Xiangfan and Huangshi branches are scheduled to be in operation by Dec. 30, 2004 to supply commercial natural gas to users along the pipeline, mainly for petrochemical, power generation, building materials, metallurgy, and urban fuel projects. PetroChina has signed gas supply contracts with 27 users in Hubei and Hunan provinces.

The Xiangtan branch will start operation July 1, 2005, supplying gas to users in Changsha and cities along the line.

With total reserves exceeding 7 trillion cu m, the Sichuan basin has 680 billion cu m of proven reserves, PetroChina said.