Construction of the Gasification Project for the Natural Gas Pipeline in Southern Xinjiang has fully commenced
Thread Content
On March 29, welding work commenced on the first batch of projects for the South Xinjiang Gasification Pipeline Project, marking the full-scale start of construction of this pipeline with a total length of 2,108 kilometers. This is another major energy artery and important project for people’s well-being that the Tarim Oil Field is initiating in southern Xinjiang. As the main source of gas for the West-to-East Gas Pipeline project and the primary gas supply source in southern Xinjiang, the Tarim Oil Field has always regarded ensuring access to gas for people of all ethnic groups in southern Xinjiang as an important political responsibility. After the South Xinjiang Natural Gas for People’s Benefit project was completed and put into operation in 2013, the Tarim Oilfield continued to expand its gas supply network and enhance its gas supply capacity, accelerating the process of \"gasifying South Xinjiang\". To date, more than 4,700 kilometers of gas pipelines have been built, ensuring gas supply to all major towns in the five regions of southern Xinjiang. The annual gas supply volume has gradually increased to 6 billion cubic meters, benefiting over 42 counties and cities, 46 agricultural and pastoral farms, as well as more than 8 million people of various ethnic groups. With the rapid development of the economy and society, the demand for natural gas in southern Xinjiang has seen an average annual growth rate of over 8% over the past five years. The insufficient transmission capacity of the existing natural gas backbone pipelines has become a bottleneck restricting the larger-scale utilization of natural gas in southern Xinjiang. In line with the overall plan for building a unified gas pipeline network across northern and southern Xinjiang, as well as China National Petroleum Corporation’s master plan for gas pipelines in those regions, the Tarim Oil Field has intensified its efforts to increase natural gas reserves and production, while simultaneously launching the project for a gas pipeline in southern Xinjiang.
Once completed, the project will not only enable the existing natural gas network to become more extensive and its pipeline transportation capacity to increase, but it will also facilitate the connection of gas supply networks around the Tarim Basin, transforming the previous “C-shaped” network into an “O-shaped” one. This will provide stronger support for the gas needs of residents and industries in southern Xinjiang. The Gasification of Natural Gas Pipelines in Southern Xinjiang project is planned to be carried out in 3 phases. The first batch of projects currently under construction has a total length of 616 kilometers, with work proceeding in two routes, east and west. The western pipeline route starts from Valve Room No. 2 of the Kuerun double-track line in Kuqa City, passes through counties and cities such as Xinhe and Wensu, and reaches Bachu County. The eastern pipeline starts at the First West-to-East Gas Transmission Station in Lunnan Town, passes through counties and towns such as Luntai, and reaches the Shangku Industrial Park in Korla City. “Once the first batch of projects are completed in 2025, the maximum daily gas supply capacity of the gas pipeline network will increase from the current 27 million cubic meters to 58 million cubic meters. This will enable dual-supply via both new and existing pipelines, benefiting nearly 10 million people of various ethnic groups. ”Chang Guichuan, executive director and Party secretary of the Oil and Gas Marketing Department at Tarim Oilfield Company, said. With the continuous expansion of the pipeline network, the positive impact of natural gas on the local economy is gradually becoming apparent. In recent years, various regions in southern Xinjiang have used natural gas as a key energy resource to attract thousands of enterprises to set up operations there, creating employment opportunities for hundreds of thousands of people and helping these counties and cities make rapid progress on the path to rural revitalization.