China to Import 6-7 Mln Tons of Crude Oil from Kazakhstan in 2009
09-24 15:16 Caijing

With the completion of the pipeline from Kazakhstan, the annual capacity will be doubled to 20 million tons.

By staff reporters Yang Yue and Chen Zhu

China, the world's second-largest energy consumer, will import 6-7 million tons of crude oil from Kazakhstan via pipeline this year, an industry official said on Sept. 23.

By the end of June, Kazakhstan had delivered 33 million tons of crude to China via the pipeline since it opened in July 2006, Zhu Baoli, manager of China National Oil and Gas Exploration and Development Corp.'s pipeline operations, said at an industry forum in Beijing.

The 962-kilometer pipeline, the result of a 50-50 joint investment by China National Petroleum Corp. and KazMunaiGaz, has a designed annual capacity of 10 million tons in phase I.

The first stage of phase II was completed with the opening of a 792-kilometer addition to the pipeline on July 11. The second, and final, stage of phase II will extend the pipeline to 2,800 kilometers and double the annual capacity to 20 million tons, Zhu said.

He did not say when the second stage would be completed.

Zhu said the pipeline had not been operating at a full capacity due to delays at CNPC's Dushanzi refinery in northwest China's Xinjiang autonomous region.

The refinery, which has an annual oil processing capacity of 10 million tons, began operating in September 2008, about a year later than scheduled.

Zhu said he was concerned that Kazakhstan might be unable to provide a stable supply via the pipeline, once phase II was in full operation.

"The two countries need to sign new contracts to stabilize oil supplies to the pipeline," he said.

http://english.caijing.com.cn/2009-09-24....

CNPC, KazMunaiGaz Sign Deal on Gas Field
10-15 16:45 Caijing

China's biggest oil producer has signed a deal with Kazakhstan's state oil firm on the final phase of a cross-border pipeline.

By staff reporter Chen Zhu

China National Petroleum Corp., the parent of PetroChina, said it has signed a framework agreement with Kazakhstan's state oil firm KazMunaiGaz on the joint development of the Urikhtau natural gas field.

CNPC made the announcement in a statement on its Web site on Oct. 15. It did not provide further details.

Urikhtau, located in the south of Kazakhstan, has estimated reserves of 40 billion cubic meters, the Shanghai Cooperation Organization said on its Web site.

The two parties also signed a framework deal on the construction of section II of phase II of the China-Kazakhstan crude oil pipeline, CNPC said.

The second, final stage of phase II will extend the pipeline to 2,800 kilometers and double the annual capacity to 20 million tons, Zhu Baoli, manager of China National Oil and Gas Exploration and Development Corp.'s pipeline operations, told an industry forum in Beijing on Sept. 23. The first stage of phase II was completed with the opening of a 792-km addition to the pipeline on July 11, Zhu said.

He did not say when the second stage would be completed.

Zhu said the pipeline had not been operating at a full capacity due to delays at CNPC's Dushanzi refinery in northwest China's Xinjiang autonomous region.

The first phase of the China-Kazakhstan pipeline opened in December 2005. The pipeline, a joint venture of CNPC and KazMunaiGas, is China's first international oil pipeline project. It runs from Atyrau in western Kazakhstan to Alashankou in northwest China.

Chinese oil companies own stakes in several Kazakhstan oil producers' operating fields along the pipeline's route.

As a member of the SCO, a mutual security forum for Central Asian states, Beijing has extended loans to several countries in the region, including the provision of US$10 billion to countries hit by the global economic crisis.

http://english.caijing.com.cn/2009-10-15....

CNPC Plans Oil Products Reserve in Jiangsu
10-26 12:13 Caijing

China National Petroleum Corp, parent of PetroChina, plans to invest 20 billion yuan to build an oil products reserve and logistics facility in Changzhou, China's Jiangsu province, according to a statement posted on its Web site Friday.

The plan also requires 30 billion yuan of investment from unspecified local sources, and includes a 1,000-km oil pipeline, as well as a chemical material production base, the statement said.

Construction is scheduled to start in 2010.

http://english.caijing.com.cn/2009-10-26....