China-Myanmar gas pipeline in full operation

BEIJING - The China National Petroleum Corporation (CNPC) said Sunday that the China-Myanmar gas pipeline has gone into full operation after the completion of its end section connecting the cities of Lufeng and Guigang in southwest China.

Some 793 km of the 2,520-km trunk line are in Myanmar, while the rest is in China. It is expected to send 12 billion cubic meters of natural gas annually to Myanmar and southwest China, which will reduce coal consumption by 30.72 million tonnes per year, according to the CNPC.

Wu Hong, general manager of the CNPC's pipeline construction department, said the China-Myanmar gas pipeline will linked with the pipeline that sends gas from China's remote northwest to the east coast, hence greatly increase the reliability of supply to customers, particularly in case of emergency.

Construction of the gas pipeline began in 2010. It is part of a so-called Myanmar-China Oil and Gas Pipeline project, which also includes building a crude oil pipeline. The Myanmar section of the gas pipeline started to deliver gas to China in late July.

The CNPC is the parent company of China's top oil and gas producer -- PetroChina.