An management of China Petroleum & Chemical Corporation（SINOPEC） said on 26th that We were undertaking preliminary research on building a natural gas pipeline from Sichuan to shanghai. The pipeline will starts from Puguang Gas field, which is a proved gas field with the largest recoverable reserves.

    According the information of an insider, construction of this natural gas pipeline may replace another pipeline leading to Shandong planned previously by SINOPEC. The foresaid person claimed that they were undertaking preliminary research on building a natural gas pipeline from Sichuan to shanghai, and We hasn’t made decision on building a pipeline from Sichuan to shanghai or from Sichuan to Shandong.

    According to the person, the Development and Reform Commission expected us to build a pipeline from Sichuan to shanghai, in order to relieve the natural gas short supply in the east megapolis Shanghai as well as in Jiangsu, Zhejiang and other surround provinces.

    According to insiders, the Development and Reform Commission figured that the natural gas supply in Shandong was not as short as that in Shanghai since the province possessed more natural gas sources, including the adjacent Zhongyuan gasfield and Oerhtossu  Gasfield (through the pipeline from Hebei Anping to Shandong Jinan) etc. The natural gas pipeline from Sichuan to Shandong previously planned by SINOPEC spans 1757 kilometers and will cross Henan in the mid with a estimated project cost of 13,800 million yuan RMB.

    The proved reserve of Puguang Gasfield is 251,000 million cubic meters, and its estimated annual output before 2008 will be 4,000 million cubic meters and 8,000 million cubic meters before 2010.