Russian Gas to Supply Beijing from Dec 3, 2020
9 a.m. December 3, 2020, China Russia East Pipeline (CREP) started to transmit natural gas from Changling Station in Jilin to Yongqing Station in Hebei, and CREP mid-section was officially put into commercial service. This 1,110 kilometers mid-section started construction from July 2019 and finished the whole project in 518 days, to provide 27 mcm/d natural gas supply to North China and help Beijing to spend 2020’s cold winter.
CREP was set to supply 8 bcm of natural gas in its first year, but Gazprom and CNPC adjusted the schedule to 5 bcm in 2020. However, the underdeveloped natural gas consumption in Northeast China was not capable to digest all the delivery of Russian gas, and the 2020 import schedule was accordingly behind the schedule. With the connection to the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region in the 2020 winter, the potential of CREP will be more utilized, and it is estimated that the piped natural gas import from Russia will embrace a significant jump from November and become a key role of North China’s winter supply on its massive availability and lower costs. According to Gazprom, the mid-section will bring at least 25% export growth of CREP instantly and further more in the future as expected.
