CNPC to restore operations at gas pipeline that exploded in Shenzhen, China

China National Petroleum (CNPC), the parent company of PetroChina, is planning to restore operations at a natural-gas pipeline that exploded following a landslide that hit an industrial park in the Guangming district in Shenzhen.

Due to the mudslide, a 400m section of the pipeline exploded and at least 91 people were missing.

The landslide, which occurred after a huge pile of construction waste slid down a hill, covered an area of 380,000m² in 10m of silt and damaged various buildings, Xinhua reported.

The company plans to lay a temporary natural gas pipeline in Shenzhen in order to replace the line over the next seven to ten days.

CNPC said natural gas from the affected pipeline segment has been emptied and it also suspended pipeline supplies to Hong Kong, the Wall Street Journal reported.

The damaged line is part of the $5.7bn, 4,000km West-East Gas pipeline operated by PetroChina and supplies Shenzhen with about 770 million cubic meters of natural gas a year.

The pipeline will also supply about 400 million cubic metres of gas a year to Hong Kong and has a capacity of 12 billion cubic meters of natural gas annually.

CLP Power Hong Kong said in a statement that the impact of the Shenzhen landslide incident has led to the temporary suspension of natural gas to Hong Kong.

The company said it is planning to arrange for repairs to be carried out soon by working with local government departments.

Following the incident, CLP Power implemented various contingency measures to ensure supply reliability.

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Image: A map showing the West-East Gas pipeline. Photo: courtesy of LFLKL.