As Sinopec technicians finished
their last bits of welding work in Alataw Pass on Monday, the oil
pipeline linking China and Kazakhstan joined ends after 18 months
of unremitting efforts.
This marked a significant first step of the 1,000-km oil pipeline
project.
The first transnational oil project between China and Kazakhstan is
jointly effort by China National
Petroleum Corporation (CNPC) and the Kazakhstan National
Petroleum and Natural Gas Company (KNPNGC).
For the first phase of the project, US$700 million was invested to
build a 813-millimeter pipeline with an annual oil transfusion
capacity of 20 million tons.
More than 200 officials and delegates from CNPC, KNPNGC,
Sino-Kazakh Oil Pipeline Co. Ltd and local government attended the
welding ceremony.
Kairgeldy Kabyldin, vice president of KNPNGC, said the oil pipeline
is a good example of close cooperation between the two
nations.
The construction of the transnational oil pipeline signifies that
the energy cooperation between China and Kazakhstan has stepped
into a new phase, said Yin Juntai, deputy general manager of China
Petroleum Exploration and Development Company.
He said CNPC currently has 53 ongoing projects in 21 countries,
including three exploration projects, four oilfields and two
pipeline projects in Kazakhstan. Moreover, in August, CNPC
successfully purchased Petro Kazakhstan.
The oil pipeline project will also greatly promote the economic
growth of Xinjiang, said Ma Ao, an official with the autonomous
region's Mongolian Autonomous Prefecture of Bortala.
The Alataw Pass, where the oil pipeline joins, will become a hub of
railway, road and pipeline transportation in the near future and
this will also mean a great many commercial opportunities, Ma
said.
The Chinese and Kazakh governments signed an agreement in June 2003
to study the feasibility of a joint investment in a transnational
oil pipeline. In May 2004, a framework agreement was signed
covering overall cooperation in the oil and gas sectors.
(Xinhua News Agency November 15, 2005)