Construction of a new pipeline in the Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region, China's largest coal-to-gas production base, is expected to further boost natural gas supply and ensure national energy security, said industry experts.

The project, which broke ground on Tuesday, is expected to place coal-derived natural gas produced at the local base into the national network through the country's west-to-east gas transmission project, and further optimize China's energy resource allocation, said its operator China Oil & Gas Pipeline Network Corp.

The project will integrate the region's vast coal-derived natural gas resources into the national grid, said the company, also known as PipeChina, the country's largest energy infrastructure company.

The west-to-east transmission project aims to transport the abundant gas resources of China's western regions to eastern areas, which have enormous energy needs. The first west-east gas pipeline started operating in 2004.

The planned coal-to-gas pipeline will be 780 kilometers long and will be built in three phases. The first phase includes one trunk line and two branch lines, with a design pressure of 12 MPa and an annual design transmission capacity of 6 billion cubic meters.

The first phase of the trunk line is approximately 254 km, with a diameter of 914 mm, and includes three stations and eight valve chambers. The entire first phase is expected to be completed by the end of 2026.

According to PipeChina, Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region holds an estimated 2.19 trillion metric tons of coal resources, accounting for 40.6 percent of the country's total, ranking first in the country. The majority of Xinjiang's coal is used locally, with the rest sent to nearby provinces.

The coal-to-gas production base has an estimated coal reserve of 390 billion tons, with proven reserves of 253.1 billion tons. It is China's largest and most resource-rich integrated coalfield, possessing the resources to develop a coal-to-gas industry.

It already has a coal-to-gas production capacity of 6 billion cubic meters per year, equivalent to the total capacity of all coal-to-gas projects already in operation in China.

China's natural gas consumption rose 8 percent to 426.1 billion cubic meters last year, according to data released by the National Development and Reform Commission.

China consolidated the pipeline assets of three State-owned energy giants in 2019 into PipeChina, amid efforts to accelerate pipeline construction and ensure energy security.

The company now operates over 100,000 kilometers of oil and gas pipelines across the country, including about 57,000 kilometers of gas pipelines.

Experts believe that the construction of the coal-to-gas pipeline will not only help Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region leverage its coal resource advantages but also promote the clean and efficient use of coal and accelerate the transformation and upgrading of traditional industries.

Leveraging its abundant coal reserves, Xinjiang has been rapidly developing industries that convert coal into valuable products like oil, gas, olefins and new materials.

The region has seen rapid growth in its coal industry, becoming a significant, rapidly expanding coal-producing area with low extraction costs and abundant resources.

This is fostering the growth of industrial clusters centered around coal, coal-fired power and coal-based chemicals, said Lin Boqiang, head of the China Institute for Studies in Energy Policy at Xiamen University.

The project, while channeling abundant energy resources from western production areas to the high-demand eastern market, will also further increase upstream resource supply and provide strong support for the downstream market, he said.