Demand for natural gas in Beijing is growing rapidly, driving the expansion of the distribution infrastructure. The second Shaanxi-to-Beijing pipeline came onstream last month. The 900-kilometer pipeline has a capacity of 12 billion cubic meters of natural gas per year. Nearly half of that has already been earkmarked for the capital.

The First Shaanxi-Beijing Line, which was opened in late 1997 and carries 2.5 billion cubic metres to Beijing annually, was previously the only artery transporting natural gas to the city.

A second new pipeline, the Jining Linkage Line, will bring gas from Northwest China’s Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region all the way to Beijing, as well as to neighboring areas around the Bohai Sea coast.

The 8-billion-yuan (nearly US$ 1 billion) Jining line is part of an giant west-to-east gas transportation project. It will connect the main pipeline to the second Shaanxi-Beijing line, according to PetroChina, the country’s largest oil and gas producer.

The 890-kilometer line will be completed by the end of the year and start operations in January.

Yet a third new distribution channel for natural gas for Beijing is the multi-billion US dollar LNG terminal that will be built at Caofeidian of Tangshan in Hebei Province. (Beijing Portal)