China to Build Oil and Gas Pipeline Across Myanmar

China has revived a plan to build an oil and gas line across Myanmar in a bid to reduce its dependence on energy supplies transported through the Strait of Malacca, state media reported Wednesday.

Work is expected to kick off in the first half of 2009, the China Daily newspaper reported of the project, which could trigger new worries about Beijing's ties with the Myanmar junta, an international pariah.

It is one of a series of large energy and infrastructure projects to be undertaken in southwest China's Yunnan province, the paper said, citing Mi Dongsheng, head of the provincial economic planning agency.

The China-Myanmar pipeline had already been announced by Yunnan officials.

Once completed it is expected to provide an alternative route for China's crude imports from the Middle East and Africa, easing worries about over-dependence on the Strait of Malacca.

Around 80 percent of China's oil imports is currently transported through the strait, earlier Chinese media reports said.

Investment in the pipeline project is reported at 2.5 billion dollars, with China National Petroleum Corp, the country's top oil producer, holding a 50.9-percent stake and managing the project, the China Daily said.

Myanmar Oil and Gas Enterprise will hold the remaining stake, according to the report.

China's demand for oil has expanded rapidly in recently years to fuel its double-digit economic growth.

The country imported nearly 200 million tonnes of oil last year, up more than 10 percent from 2006, the China Daily said.

Author: Jo Amey