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The third Shaanxi-Beijing Gas Pipeline was completed on Dec. 31 2010, and put into operation on January 4. The new pipeline will pump additional 20 million cubic meters of natural gas per day from northwestern China's Shaanxi Province to Beijing and surrounding areas to ease the shortage of gas supply for winter heating. The 896-km-long pipeline, with the pipe diameter of 1,016mm, is capable of delivering as much as 15 billion cubic meters of natural gas annually. Such amount of natural gas can substitute the use of 21 million tons of standard coal, reducing CO2 emissions of 6.3 million tons. The first and second Shaanxi-Beijing pipelines, being operational in 1997 and 2005 respectively, have a total capacity of 20 billion cubic meters per year and are confronting great pressure as demand for gas climbs in Beijing especially in winter. Statistics show that the capital city consumed more than seven billion cubic meters of natural gas in 2010. CNPC started the construction of the third Shaanxi-Beijing Gas Pipeline in May 2009 with the purpose to ensure sufficient gas supply to Beijing and the Bohai Rim region. |
