PipeChina starts laying second gas line linking Sichuan to east coast

SINGAPORE, Sept 15 (Reuters) - China Oil & Gas Pipeline Network Corporation, or PipeChina, said on Friday it has started building a second trunk line connecting gas fields in southwest China with the east coast capable of carrying 20 billion cubic meters (bcm) of gas a year.

The pipeline will originate in the southwestern province of Sichuan and with a total length of 4,269 km (2,653 miles) will join the existing pipeline grid that crisscrosses China, eventually reaching regasification terminals in Zhejiang and Fujian provinces on the east coast, PipeChina said on its official WeChat platform.

The project adds on to the existing Sichuan-to-East line that began pumping gas in 2010 from gas fields in Dazhou in Sichuan province to Shanghai and currently transports 15 bcm of gas annually.

The line will be built in phases. Under the first stage PipeChina will lay a 1,576-km western section that will also include 12 branches, crossing the Chongqing municipality and provinces of Sichuan and Hubei.

PipeChina did specify when the whole project will be completed or give the size of investment.

The additional 20 bcm of annual gas supply would cut carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions by more than 29 million tons a year versus the equivalent use of coal, PipeChina said.

(Reporting by Beijing and Chen Aizhu; Editing by Christian Schmollinger)

((aizhu.chen@thomsonreuters.com; Reuters Messaging: aizhu.chen.reuters.com@reuters.))