Sinopec to build China's biggest coal-to-gas project
BEIJING, April 7 (Reuters) -
China's state
energy giant Sinopec Group envisages investing 70 billion yuan ($11.3 billion)
to build the country's largest coal-to-gas project in 8-10 years to meet a
rising demand for natural gas, a newspaper said on Sunday.
Coal-to-gas production facilities in Zhundong in China's
northwestern region of Xinjiang will have annual production capacity of 8
billion cubic metres of gas (bcm), the Xinjiang Daily said, citing Sinopec
Xinjiang Energy Chemical Co Ltd, a unit of Sinopec Group, China's second biggest
energy company.
Coal extracted from two mines in Zhundong will be used to
feed coal-to-gas production facilities nearby, the daily said. The coal mines
have annual production capacity of 15 million tonnes each.
The natural gas produced will be transmitted through Sinopec Group's 30 bcm/year
pipeline stretching from Xinjiang to Guangdong province in south China to
Zhejiang province in east China.
The Xinjiang-Guangdong-Zhejiang pipeline measuring 7,927 km
(4,925 miles) gives Sinopec Group a substantial foothold in China's gas
distribution market.