PetroChina begins laying shale gas pipeline

Pipeline is the first of its kind in China.

PetroChina Company, Ltd, Asia's largest oil and gas producer, has started laying a pipeline to transport shale gas from one of China’s most abundant sources of the gas.

PetroChina is building the 93 kilometer pipeline that connects shale gas wells in Changning block in Changning-Weiyuan, Sichuan province. The pipeline will have a daily transport volume of 4.5 million cubic meters and will connect to an existing gas line that leads to neighboring Yunnan province.

The daily output in that field of a single straight well is between 2,000 cubic meters to 33,000 m3, and that of a horizontal well is between 10,000 m3 to 160,000 m3.

PetroChina and parent firm, China National Petroleum Corporation, have led exploration over the past few years with pilot drilling concentrated in Sichuan, the largest source of shale gas.

According to China's 12th Five-Year-Plan (2011-2015) on the energy industry, China will achieve the large-scale commercial production of shale gas by the end of 2015.