CHINA HAS begun construction of its first coal-bed methane (CBM) pipeline. Designed to be capable of carrying 3bn cum/yr, the 35-km long line will link the Qinshui Basin in north China’s Shanxi Province with the east-west natural gas pipeline, the China National Petroleum Corp., constructor and operator of the pipeline, said recently. The company didn’t give information on costs or dates for completion and operation.
"The project will make use of CBM in a more economic way and supplement sources for the west-east gas pipeline and ease the gas supply strain," the country's largest oil and gas producer said in a statement. The statement added that natural gas supplies will fall 60bn cum short of demand in China by 2010.
The pipeline originates at Jinfeng Village, Qinshui, and terminates at the Qinshui pump station on the W-E gas pipeline. Welding work began on 6 June.
Coal-bed methane has frequently led to deadly mine explosions in China. The government has been encouraging the use of the gas as fuel or for power generation and chemical production since the 1990s. As at the end of April, CBM-to-power plants had a total installed capacity of 710MW, an increase of 137% from the end of 2005, according to the energy bureau of the National Development and Reform Commission.
Basket is empty.
