The Lianyungang-Yizheng crude oil pipeline, a key national oil and natural gas transport project, successfully commenced operations on its Lianyungang-Huai'an section on Thursday, PipeChina, the project developer, told the Global Times. The project can transport over 18 million tons of crude oil per year.

Construction of the Lianyungang-Yizheng crude oil pipeline, a key national oil and natural gas transport project  File photo: Courtesy of PipeChina

This marks the first 10-million-ton-level crude oil pipeline to be put into operation since the start of China's 15th Five-Year Plan (2026-30) period and is of significant importance for optimizing the country's energy supply structure in the central and eastern regions and improving the "nationwide one-network" layout of oil and gas infrastructure.

The Lianyungang-Huai'an section of the Lianyungang-Yizheng crude oil pipeline project has a total length of 143.8 kilometers and a designed annual transportation capacity of 18.5 million tons. Construction on the section began in October 2024 and was completed in June.

The pipeline has a diameter of 813 millimeters and a design pressure of 8.5 MPa. Up to 70,000 tons of crude can be pumped daily to Yizheng, a hub in East China, serving refineries in East China's Jiangsu Province and along the Yangtze River, strengthening energy supply security, the company said.

The commissioning of the new pipeline will further optimize the oil and natural gas pipeline network in the Yangtze River Delta region and the coordinated allocation over imported crude resource, PipeChina said.