A new, high-tech natural gas pipeline running from Russia all the way through to Shanghai is now fully operational, the China Oil and Gas Pipeline Network Corporation (PipeChina) said on Dec 2.

The China-Russia east-route pipeline, with a capacity of transporting 38 billion cubic meters per year, took nearly a decade to construct and stretches over 5,000 kilometers from northern China to the east coast.

The pipeline stands as the third extensive cross-border natural gas conduit supplying gas to China, following the China-Central Asia and the China-Myanmar gas pipelines. Originating from Heihe city — located on the China-Russia border — in Heilongjiang province in Northeast China and terminating in Shanghai, the pipeline covers a total distance of 5,111 km. Constructed in three sections, the segments were recently interconnected to enable seamless gas transmission.

Forecasts from PipeChina indicate a substantial uptick in natural gas inflow into the Yangtze River Delta region through the pipeline, with an anticipated surge of nearly 5 billion cu m in 2025.

The inception of the pipeline project goes back to 2014, when China and Russia inked two pivotal cooperation agreements in the energy sector during an event in Shanghai.

These agreements included a memorandum between the two governments outlining the construction of the China-Russia east-route gas pipeline and the China-Russia east-route pipeline gas supply purchase and sale contract.

Since 2019, Russia has been steadily supplying gas to China through this pipeline, with the volume of gas transmission witnessing annual increments. The pipeline's capacity has now reached its maximum of 38 billion cu m per year, under a contract spanning 30 years.

Source: Shanghai Observer