China National Petroleum Corporation (CNPC), the country's largest oil producer, announced Monday that the route for China's second West-East natural gas pipeline had been mapped out.

The pipeline will traverse 13 provinces, autonomous regions and municipalities and bring natural gas from central Asian countries and northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region to the energy-hungry eastern and southern hubs such as Shanghai and Guangdong Province.

Construction will start in 2008 with the gas set to start flowing in 2010. The designed annual natural gas transmission volume will stand 30 billion cubic meters per year, according to CNPC.

The pipeline will stretch to 7,000 kilometers, with the main line taking up 4,859 kilometers.

(Xinhua News Agency August 27, 2007)