China-Russia pipeline transfers 13.6 b cubic meters of natural gas in two years

The China-Russia east-route natural gas pipeline had run smoothly for two years as of Thursday, transferring nearly 13.6 billion cubic meters of Russian natural gas to China, as reported by CCTV+, a partner of TV BRICS.

Heihe City of northeast China's Heilongjiang Province is the first stop after the Russian natural gas enters China.

Workers on duty always keep close tabs on the battery pressure in the valve room, monitoring closely. And the synthesis engineers conduct inspections every day.

"In winter, natural gas pipelines are prone to frost heave and ice blockage, so our inspections focus on equipment, facilities and parts that are vulnerable to freezing. We conduct inspections twice a day," said Yang Zheng, synthesis engineer at the Heihe operation area, Harbin subsidiary of the Northern Pipeline Company under the China Oil and Gas Pipeling Network (PipeChina).

The supplied natural gas has been mainly used in northeast and north China, Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region and other areas, which is acclaimed for optimizing the energy structure of China and boosting the economic growth in areas along the route.

"Heihe is the first stop in China after the Russian natural gas enters the country. There are eight flowmeters installed in the station, through which the data we get can be compared with that of Russia. This is one of our major tasks, which is to guarantee a more precise measurement at our gateway. Then there are four centrifugal compressors at this first station in Heihe, which is to provide continuous power for the natural gas in the pipelines, so that the Russian natural gas is able to continuously flow into our country," said Yan Zhangjian, deputy director of the Heihe operation area, Harbin subsidiary of the Northern Pipeline Company under PipeChina.

Running 5,111 kilometers in total length, the Chinese part of the east-route pipeline passes through nine provincial-level regions from Heilongjiang Province in northeast China to Shanghai in east China, with north China's Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, north China's Tianjin Municipality, east China's Jiangsu Province and others in between.

The route has been divided into three sections: the northern section from Heilongjiang's Heihe to Changling in northeast China's Jilin Province, the middle section from Changling to Yongqing County in north China's Hebei Province, and the southern section from Yongqing County to Shanghai.

At present, the northern and middle sections have been put into operation.