Construction of the Lianyungang-Yizheng crude oil pipeline, a key national oil and natural gas transport project  File photo: Courtesy of PipeChina

The Lianyungang-Yizheng crude oil pipeline, a key national oil and natural gas infrastructure project, commenced operations on its Lianyungang-Huai'an section on Thursday, PipeChina, the project developer, confirmed to the Global Times. The project can transport more than 18 million tons of crude per year.

This is the first 10-million-ton-level crude oil pipeline to be put into operation since the start of China's 15th Five-Year Plan (2026-30) period. It has significant importance for optimizing the country's energy supply structure in the central and eastern regions and improving the nationwide network layout of oil and gas infrastructure, PipeChina said in a statement sent to the Global Times on Thursday.

The Lianyungang-Huai'an section of the Lianyungang-Yizheng crude oil pipeline project has a total length of 143.8 kilometers and a designed annual transportation capacity of 18.5 million tons. Construction on the section began in October 2024 and was completed in June.

The pipeline has a diameter of 813 millimeters and a design pressure of 8.5 megapascals. Up to 70,000 tons of crude can be pumped daily to Yizheng, a hub in East China, serving refineries in East China's Jiangsu Province and along the Yangtze River, strengthening energy supply security, the company said.

The commissioning of the new pipeline will further optimize the oil and natural gas pipeline network in the Yangtze River Delta region and the coordinated allocation of imported crude resources, PipeChina said.

Sun Chuanwang, a professor at the School of Economics at Xiamen University, told the Global Times on Thursday that the start of operations of the Lianyungang-Huai'an section is a major step in strengthening China's oil pipeline network.

This new pipeline will beef up connectivity and stability in the central and eastern parts of China, reducing reliance on overland transportation and mitigating the impact of bad weather, contributing to the secure supply of crude oil in Jiangsu and nearby regions, Sun said.

With its access to seaborne crude and connection with inland pipelines, the new section will further improve the layout of the nationwide oil and gas network, ensuring the production security of downstream petrochemical industries, Sun said.

China has in recent years intensified efforts to build a nationwide oil and gas network, which analysts said has provided solid support to the resilience of China's energy market amid global volatility.

During the 14th Five-Year Plan (2021-25) period, the country completed a total of 19,000 kilometers of pipelines, according to the Xinhua News Agency. The transport capacity of natural gas was lifted to 420 billion cubic meters per year in 2025 from 260 billion cubic meters per year in 2020.