As technicians of Sinopec finished
their last welding work in Alataw Pass Monday, the oil pipeline
linking China and Kazakhstan joined ends after 18 months
unremitting efforts.
This marked a perfect accomplishment of the first period of the
1000-km oil pipeline project. The joining serves as a firm
foundation for the eventual overall completion of this project
soon.
The first transnational oil project between China and Kazakhstan
is jointly built by China National Petroleum Corporation (CNPC) and its
Kazakh counterpart.
In the first period of the project, US$700 million was invested
to build a 813-millimeter pipeline with an oil transfusion capacity
of 20 million tons yearly.
More than 200 officials and delegates from the CNPC, the
Kazakhstan National Petroleum and Natural Gas Company, the
Sino-Kazakh Oil Pipeline Co. Ltd and the local government attended
a joining ceremony.
Kairgeldy Kabyldin, vice president of Kazakhstan National
Petroleum and Natural Gas Company, said the oil pipeline butt joint
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 currently the CNPC has 53 projects in 21 countries,
including three exploration projects, four oilfields and two
pipeline projects in Kazakhstan. Apart from that, in August, the
CNPC successfully purchased the PetroKazakhstan.
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 Altaw 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, said the
official.
The Chinese and Kazakh governments signed an agreement in June,
2003, on studying the feasibility of the joint investment in a
transnational oil pipeline. In May, 2004, a framework agreement was
signed on overall cooperation in the fields of oil and gas.
(Xinhua News Agency November 15, 2005)