First direct natural gas pipeline begins operation

China's first direct natural gas pipeline to Beijing's neighboring Xiong'an New Area in Hebei province started operation on Thursday, according to operator China Oil & Gas Pipeline Network Corp, the nation's largest energy infrastructure owner, also known as PipeChina.

The 1,279-km-long pipeline will stretch from North China's Inner Mongolia autonomous region, passing Shanxi and Hebei to reach Tianjin.

With a capacity to transport 6.6 billion cubic meters of gas, the first phase of the project, which was put into operation on Thursday, running from Tianjin to Dingxing in Hebei province, has a total length of 413.5 kilometers.

Construction started in April 2021, said PipeChina.