China and India are building more gas transmission pipelines than the rest of the world combined, spearheading a 9 percent year-on-year increase in the length of pipelines under construction globally, according to data from Global Energy Monitor.
The 2022 year-end survey of data in the Global Gas Infrastructure Tracker shows that 17,800 kilometers (km) of gas pipelines are under construction in China at an estimated cost of $21.9 billion and 14,300 km in India at $20.7 billion, a distance circling over three-quarters of Earth. Iran, Russia and Pakistan follow China and India as the countries with the most gas pipelines under construction.
Globally, there are 59,100 km of gas transmission pipelines under construction and an additional 151,300 km of proposed pipelines. These pipelines in development are estimated to cost $533.6 billion in capital expenditure.
The total 210,400 km of gas pipelines in development globally is an increase of roughly 9 per cent from this time last year. The leading five countries in terms of in-development pipelines (proposed and under construction) are China, Russia, India, Australia, and the United States.
The top five parent companies developing pipelines are state-owned enterprises headquartered in Russia (Gazprom), China (PipeChina), India (GAIL), Nigeria (NNPC), and Iran (Ministry of Oil). The longest pipeline projects under construction are the 2,775-km Iran-Pakistan Pipeline and the 2,655-km Jagdishpur-Haldia-Bokaro-Dhamra Natural Gas Pipeline (JHBDPL) in India.
China is home to the largest pipeline networks in various stages of development, including the Anhui Gas Pipeline Network and the Guizhou Gas Pipeline Network. Through its 14th Five-Year Plan, the republic intends to double the length of gas transmission pipelines by 2025, largely through expanding provincial networks.
Baird Langenbrunner, Project Manager for the Global Gas Infrastructure Tracker, said, “Building more gas pipelines when the world needs to urgently quit fossil fuels is a worrying trend. This infrastructure risks becoming a stranded asset as countries move towards renewable energy systems.”
Global Energy Monitor (GEM) is a San Francisco-based non-governmental organization that develops and shares information focused on clean energy projects.
