The 711-mm diameter mainline, which will have a capacity of 3 billion cu m/year, will transport Sichuan basin gas to Wuhan from Zhongxian, with three spurs: a 210 km Jingzhou-Xiangfan branch; a 340.5 km Qianjiang-Xiangtan offshoot; and a 77.9 km Wuhan-Huangshi spur. With these branches, offshoots and spurs, the total pipeline length is expected to span 1,347.3 km.
The mainline will pass through 16 administrative regions in Chongqing and Hubei and the trunkline and the Xiangfan and Huangshi branches are scheduled to be in operation by late 2004.
Once in operation, it will be mainly used for petrochemical, power generation, building materials, metallurgy, and urban fuel projects users located along the pipeline's route. PetroChina has already signed gas supply contracts with 27 users in Hubei and Hunan provinces.
The Xiangtan branch is expected to start operations in mid 2005 and will supply gas to users in Changsha and other cities along the line.
