China is accelerating the construction of a natural gas backbone pipeline network featuring "four strategic channels + five vertical and five horizontal pipelines".

Recently, it was learned from the National Oil and Gas Pipeline Group Co., Ltd. that since the integrated operation of China's main oil and gas pipelines began on October 1, 2020, the natural gas transmission volume has exceeded 1 trillion cubic meters, the daily maximum gas transmission capacity has exceeded 1.1 billion cubic meters, and the market-oriented reform of the oil and gas pipeline operation mechanism has achieved remarkable results.

Data shows that over the past five years of network integration, the load rate of China's natural gas pipelines has increased by 12 percentage points to 80%, the cross-provincial pipeline transportation price has been reduced by 5%, and social energy consumption costs have been saved by 12 billion yuan annually. The daily maximum gas transmission capacity has increased by 48% compared with 2020, driving the national apparent consumption to exceed 420 billion cubic meters. At present, the oil and gas pipelines have achieved unified allocation and management, established an "X+1+X" oil and gas market system, and significantly enhanced the vitality of market players.

"Fair opening of the pipeline network has achieved leapfrog development." According to relevant persons in the Marketing Department of the National Pipeline Group, the number of shippers has surged 176-fold to 882 in five years, the construction cycle of 343 upstream and downstream projects has been shortened by 33%, 8 LNG receiving stations have been fully opened, with a cumulative gas processing volume of over 70 million tons. Its underground gas storage facilities have achieved market-oriented operation, providing gas storage services for 14 users. The number of downstream users has exceeded 1,300, and the proportion of pipeline transportation by small and medium-sized shippers has jumped from 2.1% to 10.2%, significantly improving market allocation efficiency.

At present, China is accelerating the construction of a natural gas backbone pipeline network of "four strategic channels + five vertical and five horizontal". By 2025, 2,000 kilometers of new pipelines will be built. The China-Russia Eastern Route natural gas pipeline is operating at full capacity, and key projects such as the second Sichuan-to-East Gas Transmission Line are being accelerated. It is expected that by 2030, the number of users of the main oil and gas pipelines will exceed 3,000, and the proportion of small and medium-sized shippers will increase to 30%, further consolidating the foundation for energy security.

With the continuous advancement of China's oil and gas pipeline construction, in-depth technological innovation, and gradual improvement of the market mechanism, the long-term mechanism for stable natural gas supply will be more sound, providing a solid and powerful guarantee for China's energy security and sustainable economic and social development.