China-Myanmar crude oil pipeline delivers over 100 mln tonnes of oil

The China-Myanmar crude oil pipeline has delivered over 100 million tonnes of crude oil to date, the China Oil and Gas Piping Network Corporation (PipeChina) announced on Monday, a milestone that has solidified the energy foundation for southwestern China to optimize oil and gas resource allocation and pursue high-quality economic and social development.

The pipeline originates in Myanmar and stretches 618 kilometers within China after entering through Ruili in southwest China's Yunnan Province. Terminating at the Anning refinery of Yunnan Petrochemical, the line officially commenced operations in June 2017.

The artery has transformed how Yunnan gets its fuel, ending the region's long dependence on supplies trucked in from afar, said Cheng Yutao, deputy manager of the marketing department at PipeChina's Yunnan branch.

"In the past, refined oil supply in Yunnan relied heavily on long-distance overland transport from China's eastern coastal regions. Today, leveraging the China-Myanmar pipeline to refine crude locally at Yunnan Petrochemical and efficient delivery through the southwest refined oil pipeline network, we have established a complete industrial chain spanning crude import, refining and refined product distribution," Cheng said.

To overcome operational challenges posed by Yunnan's complex mountainous terrain, operators have advanced intelligent management featuring automated, unattended stations backed by dedicated emergency teams, building five smart stations so far. Currently, the pipeline maintains a daily delivery volume of 35,000 tonnes of crude oil.

The People's Bank of China, the central bank, will carry out 700-billion-yuan (about 104.8 billion U.S. dollars) one-year medium-term lending facility (MLF) operations on Monday to maintain ample liquidity in the country's banking system.

The central bank said the MLF operations will be conducted through variable-rate tenders with a fixed quantity, using a multiple-price auction.

The MLF is a monetary policy tool used by the central bank to provide medium-term base money, which can be conducted through a tender process.

Introduced in 2014, it helps commercial and policy banks maintain liquidity by allowing them to borrow from the central bank using securities as collateral.