Natural gas pipeline to ensure energy security and bolster ties with ASEAN

An engineer from CNPC checks gas pipelines in Made Island, Myanmar. [Photo/Xinhua]

The China-Myanmar crude oil and gas pipeline, a pioneer project of the Belt and Road Initiative, carried 33 billion cubic meters of natural gas and 33.12 million metric tons of crude oil by June this year, according to China National Petroleum Corp, the country's largest oil and gas company.

The biggest investment by CNPC in Myanmar, the project includes the China-Myanmar crude oil pipeline, the China-Myanmar gas pipeline and the supporting crude oil terminal project in Made Island. It is also the first large-scale oil and gas pipeline facility across the entire territory of Myanmar.

The pipeline, which was started in June 2010, commenced operations in April 2017 as a State-operated collaboration between China, Myanmar and international commercial partners. It has helped ensure energy security of the world's second-largest economy while creating an energy channel that benefits the peoples of both Myanmar and China.

Industry experts said that the project, comprising a 793-kilometer-long natural gas pipeline and a 771-kilometer-long crude oil pipeline, which run parallel from Myanmar to China's Yunnan, enables China, Myanmar and the entire ASEAN region to realize the interconnection of energy pipelines while promoting the economic integration of local areas through complementary strengths.

Li Ziyue, an analyst with BloombergNEF, said China has three corridors of pipeline gas imports, from Northwest, Northeast and Southwest, and the China-Myanmar pipeline is an important project that pumps gas into Southwest China.

As one of the five pipeline gas suppliers to China, Myanmar has delivered 4.7 billion cubic meters of gas into China last year, or around 2 percent of China's total consumption, she said.

According to Meng Fanchun, president of Sino-Pipeline International Co Ltd, a subsidiary of CNPC and the operator of the pipeline, with more than 200 Myanmar enterprises involved, the project has brought economic benefits to the Asian nation, including national revenue, investment bonuses, road tolls, transit fees, training funds and social assistance funds.

The project has helped change the lives of many local residents, with more than $27 million invested through the project in 282 social and economic assistance programs along the pipeline, enabling about 30,000 students to enjoy better education conditions, 900,000 residents to access more convenient and reliable medical services and many villages to enjoy 24-hour power and safe drinking water, he said.

Han Jianqiang, general manager of the oil and gas project, said the China-Myanmar oil and gas pipeline project is a demonstration and prototype project of the Belt and Road Initiative. The company will ensure smooth operation of the project to continuously contribute to Myanmar's economic and social development through expanding industrial cooperation.

The oil and gas pipeline project is the largest industrial project to date undertaken by Chinese-funded enterprises in Southeast Asia, said CNPC.

CNPC has been providing engineering support for more than 60 countries across the globe, while providing oil and other material equipment to 78 countries and regions. The company has paid taxes and dues exceeding $60 billion in countries and regions participating in the Belt and Road Initiative while providing more than 100,000 local jobs.