Sino-Myanmar gas pipeline concludes construction in Myanmar section

Photo taken on Feb. 27, 2012 shows the Made Island project site in Rakhine state's Kyaukphyu, Myanmar. Myanmar Vice President U Tin Aung Myint Oo on Monday spoke highly of a Sino-Myanmar oil and natural gas pipelines project on Made Island, Rakhine state's Kyaukphyu. The project is being implemented by the China National Petroleum Corporation (CNPC) and related companies. The Myanmar vice president also said that he appreciated the Chinese company's support for Myanmar's charity undertakings. (Photo : Xinhua/NEWSis/Jin Fei)

After three years of intensive work, the construction work for the Sino-Myanmar natural gas pipeline in the Myanmar section has been completed, CNPC, the parent company of PetroChina (PTR.NYSE; 601857.SH; 0857.HK), said in a statement on Tuesday.

The statement added that operation of the gas pipeline could start at any time upon successful test of the supervisory control and data acquisition (SCADA) system.

As for the crude oil pipeline, which is being built paralleling the natural gas pipeline, 94 percent of the overal construction work has been completed, according to the statement.

Myanmar Vice President U Tin Aung Myint Oo (2nd L, front row)inspects the progress of the Sino-Myanmar crude oil and gas pipeline project at the Minbu (Sagu) project site in the Magway Region, where oil and gas pipelines pass through, Feb. 29, 2012. (Photo : Xinhua/U Aung)

Gao Shuxun, vice governor of southwest China’s Yunnan province, said in early May that the Sino-Myanmar oil pipeline could come into trial operation in late 2013 or early 2014, while the natural gas pipeline could come on stream within the first half of 2013.

The pipeline project consists of a crude oil pipeline and a natural gas pipeline, which both run from the port of Kyaukpyu on Myanmar’s west coast and enter China at Ruili, Yunnan Province.

The oil pipeline has a designed annual transport capacity of 22 million tonnes of crude oil, while the natural gas pipeline has a designed annual transport capacity of 12 billion cubic meters. <Xinhua/NEWSis/Qiu Jun>