CNPC, Guizhou Gas Form Pipeline JV

China National Petroleum Corp. (CNPC) and Guizhou Gas Co have formed a joint venture to launch a pipeline company called CNPC Guizhou Natural Gas Pipeline Co., Ltd.

In the new entity, CNPC will have a 60% stake and Guizhou Gas will hold 25% share while rest will be owned by various entities who were not named, Sinocast has reported. The company will be mainly engaged in investment, operation and management of natural gas pipelines within Guizhou, and it will also be involved in marketing of natural gas.

The Sinocast news report also said that between 2012 and 2020, the company will build 37 natural gas branch pipelines in Guizhou with a total length of approximately 2,300 kilometers. The branch pipelines will be part of or supporting the China-Burma natural gas pipeline and the pipeline between Zhongwei, Ningxia and Guiyang, Guizhou.

Chinese section of the China-Burma natural gas pipeline is scheduled to be completed before June 2013. This natural gas pipeline starts from the west coast of Burma and enters China through Ruili City of Yunnan Province. The pipeline can carry 22 million tons of crude oil and 12 billion cubic meters of natural gas pipeline a year.