BEIJING (XFN-ASIA) - PetroChina Co Ltd (HK 0857), the country's top oil and gas producer, is drafting plans for a third west-east gas pipeline to carry Russian gas to eastern market, the Oriental Morning Post reported, citing company official.
The unidentified official was quoted as saying that the plan remains preliminary with no site studies conducted.
The route for the third pipeline is expected to run from the Altai area, where Russia and China share a border, to Bohai Bay on the eastern China coast, the official said.
PetroChina (nyse: PTR - news - people ) completed the first west-to-east natural gas pipeline in October 2004 from Lunnan Oilfield in the Tarim Basin in Xinjiang, running 2,400 kilometers to Shanghai.
It also plans to build second line next year, which will run south to the Pearl River region with an extension to the Yangtze River region.
Preparations for the third line are likely to get into gear after line two starts operations at the beginning of next year, the official said.
The third line, which will be at least 1 meter in diameter, will run for about 6,000 kilometres, although branch lines could bring the total length to 8,000 km, the official said.
Work on the line could accelerate if Russia and China agree early on terms for the sale of up to 80 bln cubic meters of gas per year, the official said.
Earlier this month, the official Xinhua news agency reported that the two countries reached a consensus on a pricing mechanism after months of negotiations, according to Alexander Medvedev, the deputy chairman of Russia's state-owned Gazprom.
