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By the end of 2024, houses in China’s financial capital Shanghai and other cities in north-east China are expected to get uninterrupted and “stable” gas supply as the construction of China-Russia east-route natural gas pipeline has completed and is now in its final commissioning phase.
As soon as the pipeline becomes operational, 38 billion cubic meters of natural gas will be supplied every year to north-east China, the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region, and the Yangtze River Delta, a report by CCTV said.
The supply of natural gas through this pipeline is expected to be sufficient to meet the annual needs of 130 million urban households, easing supply constraints in these regions, the report further said.
Length of China-Russia east-route natural gas pipeline
The China-Russia east-route natural gas pipeline spans 5,111 kilometers, including 3,371 kilometers of newly built sections.
The pipeline starts in Heihe, Northeast China’s Heilongjiang Province, that borders Russia and the eastern metropolis and stretches up to Shanghai.
According to CCTV, the section that has been recently completed connects Nantong to Luzhi in East China’s Jiangsu Province, representing the final stage of construction of the pipeline.
The report further said that the project, which is touted to be the world’s largest single-pipe capacity, will help “make important contributions to optimising China’s energy consumption structure, promoting green transformation, and helping to achieve the ‘dual carbon’ goals.”
China has set a goal of reaching peak carbon emission by 2030 and carbon neutrality by 2060.
Why so much hype about Russia-China gas pipeline?
The gas pipeline spans across the North China Plain and will cater to the mounting demand of the region as it often witnesses a shortage of natural gas during winters when the heating demand surges.
Impact Shorts
More ShortsIt will also cater to the rising demand of the Yangtze River Delta, an economic powerhouse with high population density.
The gas pipeline, seen as an essential energy route for eastern China, is also believed to prove play a pivotal role in securing regional gas supply, supporting the development of a clean, low-carbon and efficient energy system, and promoting the region’s high-quality economic and social development, a report by Global Times quoted analysts as saying.
The project is also a critical component of China’s four strategic oil and gas corridors, divided into the northern, middle and southern sections.
Dubbed the Power of Siberia, the pipeline inside China commenced partial operation about five years ago and since then has been extended towards the south.
According to state-owned PipeChina, which was formerly known as the China Oil and Gas Pipeline Network, the route has, so far, supplied over 78 billion cubic metres of natural gas to China.
The construction of the southern section, starting from Hebei province and stretching up to Shanghai, was accelerated by Chinese workers in 2020 and the entire project was completed seven months ahead of the schedule, the CCTV report quoted PipeChina official Cui Zong as saying.
China, Russia energy trade sees new record
The recent years have seen a massive spike in energy trade between China and Russia after Western economies have boycotted commodities from Russia following its invasion of Ukraine.
The pipeline gas supplies from Russia to China in 2023 climbed by 61.7 per cent from a year earlier to US$6.4 billion. As per a report by TASS, China, last year, became the second-largest importer after Turkmenistan.
Also, Russian crude shipped to China rose by 24 per cent in 2023 from a year earlier to 107.02 million metric tonnes – equivalent to 2.14 million barrels per day.
With inputs from agencies.
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