Oil pipelines are seen at PetroChina Dushanzi Petrochemical Company in Dushanzi, China's northwestern Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, July 29, 2006. (Xinhua Photo)

BEIJING, July 29 (Xinhua) -- PetroChina has announced that a first batch of crude oil has been successfully piped from Kazakhstan to its oil tank field in northwestern Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region via the China-Kazakhstan Pipeline. The oil reached the refinery at 5 p.m. Saturday.

    The arrival of the first crude oil imports signals full commercial operation for China's first cross-country crude oil pipeline, said a circular released by PetroChina.

    The transnational section of the crude oil pipeline linking China to Kazakhstan is 962 km long. It joins a 246 km domestic section, making a total length of more than 1200 kilometers.

    The pipeline, which can carry 10 million tons of crude oil per year, starts at Atasu in west Kazakhstan. It enters China at Alashankou port on the Sino-Kazakhstan border before reaching its destination at PetroChina Dushanzi Petrochemical Company.

    Jointly built by China National Petroleum Corporation, China's largest oil producer and the parent company of PetroChina, and construction companies from Kazakhstan, the pipeline will strengthen China's oil supply security by offering a land route.

    It will also give China better access to oil in both Kazakhstan and Russia, according to analysts. Enditem