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)