China announces plan to form oil and pipeline firm

Beijing

CHINA announced it will form a national oil and pipeline company, the first public acknowledgment of the massive energy industry overhaul planned since at least 2014.

The creation of the pipeline company was mentioned in the National Development & Reform Commission's work report released on Tuesday during the annual National People's Congress meeting.

Chinese President Xi Jinping's government has planned for years to spin off into a new company some of the 112,000km of oil, gas and fuel pipelines held by state energy giants, led by China National Petroleum Corp.

The formation of a new pipeline company would help reform the energy sector by separating transmission and sales businesses and removing impediments to oil and gas exploration, according to the report. It included no further details of the company or timing of its creation. BLOOMBERG