Jan. 28 – China National Petroleum Corporation (CNPC) stated that the long awaited Myanmar-China oil and gas pipelines should be operational by May of this year. The 1,100 kilometer pipeline stretches from Kyaukpyu Port on Myanmar’s central west coast, crosses the country from west to east and terminates at Ruili, near Kunming, in Yunnan Province.
The pipeline contains two feeder pipes: one containing oil shipped to Kyaukpyu from the Middle East and Africa across the Indian Ocean, and the other containing gas from the Shwe gas fields in the Bay of Bengal. The oil route negates the need for China to send shipments through the Straits of Malacca.
Some 22 million tons of oil and 12 billion cubic meters of gas are expected to transit via the pipeline each year. The entire project cost US$2.5 billion and was financed by China. The Myanmar government charge transportation levies for the commodities crossing their land.
