Plans for more pipelines

China plans to extend its oil and gas pipelines by nearly 60 percent by 2010 in order to meet rising demand for energy, according to the nation's top pipeline builder.

The oil and gas pipeline industry has experienced its fastest growth since the Ninth Five-Year Plan period (1996-2000), said Tang Yali, vice-president of the natural gas and pipeline company under PetroChina.

"China's oil and gas pipeline industry has increased by 14 percent on average since 1996. Between 2000 and 2005, China has built more pipelines than it did in all the preceding years," he said.