Officials were forced to turn off the flow of gas through one section of the Myanmar-China gas pipeline in Yunan Province after it started leaking on Tuesday, China Daily reported.

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The leakage is reported to have occurred in parts of the pipeline which lies close to a highway tunnel that connects Kunming and Shilin. Authorities say the situation has been brought under control.

It is unclear what caused the leakage. The Myanmar-China gas pipeline project was officially commissioned about three years ago, however, the pipelines had been under construction since 2010.

According to China.org.cn, local officials have hinted that the gas leakage is likely to have been caused by ongoing construction works. Reports indicate that authorities also had to shut down parts of the highway after the leakage was discovered.

No accident has been reported as a result of the leakage and the extent of the damage is still unclear. Nonetheless, the fact that the authorities have allegedly emptied all the gas from the section of the pipeline which is leaking shows that it could not be fixed immediately.

Local sources have reported that the section of the pipeline which is leaking was only commissioned on June 10. The 91.5 kilometer pipeline has the capacity to deliver over 900 cubic meters of gas to Kunming annually.

The gas pipeline project was created to expand China's sources of crude oil importation. At the moment, a large percentage of China's oil is being delivered via the sea. However, the purpose of the 771 kilometers pipeline project is to reduce this reliance on sea transportation. Instead, oil from the Middle East can now be transported from the Shwe offshore gas fields through this pipeline, which runs from the western part of Myanmar, to China's Yunan Province, according to Energy Tribune. The Myanmar-China gas pipeline project is jointly owned by China National Petroleum Corporation (CNPC) and Myanmar Oil and Gas Enterprise (MOGE).

TagsMyanmar-China gas pipeline, Myanmar-China gas pipeline leakage