Sinopec to invest 34.4b yuan in gas pipeline for new economic zone

[BEIJING] China Petrochemical Corporation (Sinopec) will invest 34.4 billion yuan (S$6.942 billion) in a gas pipeline project, it said in a statement on Tuesday.

The Erdos-Anping-Cangzhou pipeline project is designed to connect major LNG storage with Xiongan New Area, China's new economic zone near capital Beijing, with annual transmission capacity of 30 billion cubic metres (bcm).

Utilisation of 30 bcm of natural gas will save the equivalent of 60 million tonnes coal and cut greenhouse gas emissions by 36 million tonnes per year, the company said.

China has launched a campaign to reduce air pollution in 28 major northern cities, including Beijing and Tianjin.

When launched in 2019, the first stage of the pipeline project will power Xiongan with imported LNG from Tianjin and China's largest underground gas storage in central province Henan.

In the long term, Sinopec plans to promote renewable energy in the coal-rich provinces of Inner Mongolia, Shaanxi and Shanxi by delivering their coal gas, coal bed gas and conventional gas to consumers in northern China.

The pipeline project has been approved by the National Development and Reform Commission, the company said.

REUTERS