June 3, 2026, Beijing. A seemingly routine annual oil and gas infrastructure conference has released an unusual signal. When Wan Jinsong, Deputy Director of the National Energy Administration, explicitly proposed to promote the coordination of oil and gas and hydrogen based energy pipeline transportation systems at the meeting, many representatives of central enterprises in the audience realized that China's energy artery was brewing a profound change. This is not only an extension of pipelines, but also a leap in infrastructure from carbon based energy to hydrogen based energy era.

The beginning of the 15th Five Year Plan should be fully utilized

The meeting clearly pointed out that 2026, as the starting year of the 15th Five Year Plan, should further increase investment and construction efforts in oil and gas infrastructure. Governments at all levels and relevant enterprises must promote the full implementation and investment of major projects during the 15th Five Year Plan period. This means that from 2026 onwards, a batch of new oil and gas pipelines, storage facilities, and supporting hub projects will be intensively launched, forming a new wave of energy infrastructure construction.

A nationwide network extending towards hydrogen based

The meeting proposed to continuously improve the national oil and gas network and promote the coordination of oil and gas and hydrogen based energy pipeline transportation system on this basis. Specific measures include strengthening the planning and connection of inter provincial and intra provincial oil and gas pipeline networks, improving the mechanism for accessing and using pipeline facilities, and ensuring that pipelines that comply with government planning are fully connected to national trunk pipelines. This deployment marks the upgrade of China's energy pipeline network system from a single oil and gas transmission to a multi energy compatible direction for oil, gas, and hydrogen, better serving the construction of a new energy system. Keywords: New energy news and information, oil and gas, hydrogen energy

Technology empowers pipeline protection upgrade

The meeting also focused on deploying pipeline protection work. Require pipeline protection authorities at all levels to focus on key aspects such as pipeline occupation clearance, third-party construction control, and handling of engineering encounters and intersections, and comprehensively strengthen risk prevention and control. At the same time, we emphasize the empowerment of technology, actively promote new artificial intelligence technologies, and expand new pipeline inspection models such as unmanned aerial vehicle patrols in areas where conditions permit, in order to enhance the inherent safety level of pipelines through technological innovation.Editor/Gao Xue