PetroChina puts Lanzhou-Zhengzhou oil pipeline into operation
China's oil giant PetroChina has started to operate a major pipeline to help transport fuel from the northwest to the
energy-thirsty central regions. The 1,188-km-long pipeline running from Lanzhou in north-western Gansu province to
Zhengzhou in central China's Henan province started pumping and delivering oil.
"The smooth launching and operation of the Lanzhou-Zhengzhou pipeline marks a success of one phase of the nation's
biggest refined oil pipeline system construction," a report said.
The Lanzhou-Zhengzhou segment is part of the Lanzhou-Zhengzhou-Changsha pipeline running 2,070 km from northwest
Gansu and Shannxi to central Henan, Hubei and Hunan. It has an annual transportation capacity of 15 mm tons.
China approved the project in 2007 in a move to improve PetroChina's efficiency in transporting oil products from
north-western to central regions, which rely heavily on supply from other areas. PetroChina currently uses trains to
distribute fuel due to the lack of a pipeline.
The west-central line will eventually be connected with a line running from northeast Jinzhou in Liangning province
to central Zhengzhou, forming the country's biggest oil products pipeline network.
It also said that the Zhengzhou-Changsha segment would be ready for operation by the end of June.
