Sinopec Starts Shale Gas pipe
Sinopec December 17 put in operation the Nanchuan-Fuling pipeline which will transport shale gas from the Fuling shale gas field in Chongqing, the company said December 18.
The pipeline will be connected to the Fuling-Wangchang gas pipeline. And then through Sichuan-East gas pipeline, the shale gas will be supplied to the middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze River Economic Belt. The 65-km pipeline has a capacity to transport 4bn m3/yr of gas, Sinopec said.
Sinopec-operated Fuling field is one of the largest shale gas fields in China. The first phase of the Fuling shale gas field in central southwest China went into production in 2015. Last year, it produced 6.02bn m3 and sold 5.78bn m3 of shale gas. Sinopec is aiming to raise output to 10bn m³/yr by 2020. Since 2014, four shale gas fields have been discovered in the Sichuan basin: Fuling, Weiyuan, Changning and Weirong.
Recently, Sinopec received approval from China's natural resources ministry to develop the Weirong shale gas field.