Workers at the Baihe Gas Transfer Station have managed to successfully extract the gas from the pipeline and are in the process of testing its quality. Once at optimal operational capacity, the daily supply from the pipeline is an expected to reach around 500,000 cubic metres.
The general manager of the Shanghai Natural Gas Supply Co Ltd, Wang Yuchu, has confirmed that the main market for the gas, which will be augmented with 1.8 million cubic metres of gas that will be extracted from an East China Sea field, will be for Shanghai homes. The gas will be sold at around US$0.25 per cubic metre and Wang believes that the supply will ease the problem of supply shortages in winter.
Furthermore, by switching to gas, the city will be adopting a new energy strategy that will minimise its dependence on coal and cut down on carbon emissions. Shanghai aima to hit a gas consumption target of 3 billion to 3.5 billion cubic metres by 2005.
