CNPC to boost Shanghai gas supply by 2 bln bcm this year
Shanghai. June 28. INTERFAX-CHINA - China National Petroleum Corp. (CNPC) is expected to supply an additional two billion cubic meters (bcm) of natural gas to Shanghai Municipality before the end of 2011, Xinhua news agency reported June 28.
The Nanchang to Shanghai spur of the second West-East Gas Pipeline (WEP II) will deliver the gas once it is completed later this year, the state-media report said.
Shanghai, a major commercial and financial hub on China's eastern coast, will receive an aggregate four bcm this year from both the first West-East Pipeline (WEP I) and WEP II, CNPC said June 27.
WEP II runs for 4,843 kilometers between Khorgas in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region to Guangzhou in Guangdong Province, and has eight branches.
State-owned CNPC, China's largest oil and gas producer, began gas deliveries to Shanghai via WEP I on January 1, 2004,Interfax previously reported.
Shanghai also sources natural gas from the Sichuan-Shanghai pipeline, operated by China Petrochemical Corp. (Sinopec Group). Liquefied natural gas (LNG) imports are also a major contributor to Shanghai's power supply.
Shanghai's natural gas consumption is expected to rise ten-fold by 2020 to 25.59 bcm, the Xinhua report said.
- GW and CS