China's longest coal bed methane pipeline, the Shenmu-Anping pipeline, was put into trial operation on Thursday, said its operator China National Offshore Oil Corp, the country's largest offshore driller.

The pipeline will not only further lift the gas supply capacity of Shanxi and Shaanxi provinces but also further ensure the natural gas supply in the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region, it said.

The pipeline starts from Shenmu, Yulin city of Shanxi province and ends at Anping county, Hengshui city of Hebei province. The total length of the pipeline is approximately 623 kilometers, with a designed gas transmission capacity of 5 billion cubic meters per annum, it said.

CNOOC said the pipeline will effectively release the production capacity of upstream projects, help to maximize the resource value of the two unconventional natural gas production bases in the Qinshui Basin and the eastern edge of the Erdos Basin and strongly support the natural gas supply in North China.

Zhengxin@chinadaily.com.cn