PetroChina plans to invest $924million to increase the supply capacity of the west-east gas pipeline. The company will use the funds to link the main west-east pipeline with the second Shaanxi-Beijing pipeline, which is currently under construction and is expected to start supplying natural gas from the NW province of Shaanxi to the capital next month.
The company also plans to build a gas storage tank in the eastern province of Jiangsu and six gas pumping stations at the western end of the west-east pipeline. After the capacity expansion project is completed, the 4,200km pipeline will supply 12 billion cum/yr of gas two years earlier than planned.
PetroChina also plans to complete the construction of a link between the west-east pipeline and the second Shaanxi-Beijing pipeline by the end of this year. This 890-km line will start operating in January 2006, and will span the three provinces of Jiangsu, Shandong, and Hebei.