GE will supply eight centrifugal compressor packages and auxiliary equipment for Sinopec's 1600-km long Sichuan-East China pipeline, which will transport gas from the Puguang field in Sichuan to Shanghai to help offset fuel shortages there. The pipeline, which will have an initial capacity of 6bn cum/yr of gas that will be increased to 15bn/yr in the future, and is scheduled come on-line in 2009. The main pipeline will transect Sichuan, Hubei, Anhui, and Zhejiang provinces. An 842-km secondary line will originate from Yichang City in Hubei and end at Puyang City in Henan, while two shorter branches will be located near the Puguang gasfield, and one in the east near Shanghai. "This project supports China's plans to more than double the share of natural gas in the country's energy mix by the end of the decade, in an effort to increase the use of cleaner fuels to meet China's enormous energy needs," said Claudi Santiago, president and CEO of GE Oil & Gas. "It will deliver natural gas from Puguang, which is Sinopec's largest field, to the thriving eastern region where fuel demand is very strong." Under the terms of the strategic agreement, the two companies will deepen their cooperation in new product research and development, the application of new technology, products and technology standardization, quality management, equipment maintenance, and technical training.