China to build Myanmar oil, gas lines from Sept -media

BEIJING, June 16 (Reuters) - China will start building oil and gas pipelines through Myanmar in September that would enable it shorten the journey time for crude oil imports from the Middle East and Africa, the China Securities Journal reported on Tuesday.

"The section of the pipelines in Myanmar will be built under the name of CNPC but whether CNPC or PetroChina undertakes the construction of the domestic section has not been decided," the newspaper said, citing an unnamed CNPC official.

CNPC, China's largest oil and gas producer, operates most of its domestic businesses via listed PetroChina (601857.SS) (0857.HK)(PTR.N).

The oil and gas pipelines would help China cut out oil cargoes' long detour through the congested Malacca Strait as well as strengthen its access to rich energy reserves in Myanmar itself.

The gas line, with transportation capacity of 12 billion cubic metres a year, is projected to ship in natural gas to Kunming, capital of southwestern China's Yunnan province, which borders Myanmar, in 2012, the report said.

The pipe, with total length of 2,806 kilometres, will extend to Guizhou province and end in Nanning, capital of the Guangxi region.

The 400,000 barrels-per-day (bpd) crude oil pipe would run about 1,100 kilometres from a deep-sea port in Kyaukphyu Township in Myanmar's Rakhine State to China's Kunming before extending to Guizhou and Chongqing municipality.

(Reporting by Jim Bai and Chen Aizhu; Editing by Jonathan Hopfner)