China National Petroleum Corp or CNPC the parent company of PetroChina Co Ltd said that its crude oil pipeline from Lanzhou to Chengdu started construction at the end of March this year, and the project is expected to complete and start production in 2012.

Sources reported that the oil pipeline, with a length of is 878 kilometers, has annual capacity of 10 million tonnes of crude oil.

The pipeline will transport crude oil from Northwest of China and Kazakstan oilfield since China's southwestern region lacks of crude oil resources.

The project is expected to contribute to the petrochemical industry development in Sichuan Province.

China's National Development and Reform Commission, China's top economic planner, approved the oil pipeline project last September. CNPC plans to build a huge refinery in Chengdu to offset oil supply shortage in Southwest of China.

Currently, 70% of southwestern region's refined oil was supplied by the refined oil pipeline linking Lanzhou with Chongqing.

(Sourced from China Knowledge)