Setting multiple industry records: The first tunnel of the Guozigou pipeline project for the West-to-East Gas Transmission project was completed today

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Today (the 27th), the first mountain tunnel of the Guozigou pipeline, a key project in China’s western oil and gas transportation network located in Ili, Xinjiang, will be completed. This project has set multiple industry records, marking a new breakthrough in China’s ability to build long-distance pipelines under complex geological conditions. Guozigou is located in the interior of the Western Tianshan Mountains and serves as a necessary route for the Second and Third West-East Gas Pipelines to pass through the Tianshan range. Due to the complex geological and topographical conditions in this area, geological disasters occur frequently, posing challenges to the smooth operation of the gas pipeline systems. It is understood that the Guozigou pipeline project for Lines 2 and 3 of the West-to-East Gas Transmission Project is expected to be put into full operation by September 2027. To date, the Second and Third West-East Gas Pipelines have transported over 557 billion cubic meters of natural gas in total, benefiting 500 million people living along their routes. Setting multiple industry records and providing a \"double safeguard\" for the energy supply routes, Guozigou, known as \"the most beautiful scenery in Ili\", is the route that the Western Gas Pipeline Project Lines 2 and 3 must take to cross the Tianshan Mountains and reach Shenzhen in Guangdong and Fuzhou in Fujian. The pipeline projects for Lines 2 and 3 under construction in Guozigou are intended to provide a \"double safeguard\" for this area. The total length of this pipeline project is 32 kilometers, with the key components being 4 long-distance mountain tunnels. The 4 tunnels run from west to east, with a continuous ascent; their total length is 23.16 kilometers, and the elevation difference between their ends is 668 meters, which is equivalent to 1.5 times the height of the Burj Khalifa. These are the longest mountain tunnels in China’s oil and gas pipeline sector in terms of the distance that can be tunnelled in a single operation using a full-face hard rock tunneling machine (6612 meters), the largest cross-sectional size (6870 mm), the highest elevation (2005 meters), the greatest elevation difference (324 meters), and the steepest slope for the main tunnel (10.61%). They represent the first tunnel project in this sector to pass through an earthquake-active fault zone. Tunnel excavation is carried out using the largest-diameter and longest-operating-distance double-shield full-face hard rock tunneling machine currently available in the oil and gas industry, ensuring safe and steady excavation at an average rate of 450 meters per month. Once completed, the project will operate in conjunction with the existing pipelines and serve as a backup for one another, which is of great significance for ensuring the safe operation of the major oil and gas transportation routes in the western region.