China National Petroleum Corporation (CNPC) said on Thursday the Tangjiashan quake-lake in Sichuan Province may destroy the company's pipeline in the area.
The water reserve of the quake-lake was more than 200 million cubic meters as of Thursday. The probable bursting of the lake would pose risks to the Lanzhou-Chengdu-Chongqing oil pipeline. It is 60 km from the lake.
According to the emergency plan, the flood discharge capacity could hit 34,330 cubic meters per second if the lake fully bursts. The pipeline, however, could only resist a maximum flood capacity of 6,620 cubic meters per second.
The CNPC said it had made out an emergency plan, and had to get ready to repair the pipeline if it suffered damage.
The Lanzhou-Chengdu-Chongqing oil pipeline passes through four provinces and municipalities nationwide. It is the only refined oil pipeline in the country's southwest regions.
The pipeline has an annual transport capacity of more than 6 million tonnes. About 70 percent of the refined oil in Sichuan and Chongqing are channeled by this pipeline.
The 8.0-magnitude tremor, which claimed 69,127 lives as of Thursday noon, left 34 quake lakes in its aftermath.
(Xinhua News Agency June 6, 2008)
