The National Development and Reform Commission and National Energy
Administration issued the oil and natural gas 15th Five‑Year Plan, assigning
State Pipeline Group primary responsibility for trunk‑line investment and
construction while permitting private capital in non-strategic pipelines and
oil/gas storage. The plan requires all planned gas storage and LNG receiving
terminals be connected to the national trunk network, signals active support for
provincial energy plans’ pipelines to tie into the national trunk, seeks to
compress pipeline transport tiers and foster market‑based integration of
provincial networks, and allows direct trunk‑line supply to large users where
conditions permit. It also calls for a unified nationwide pipeline operation and
dispatch mechanism, exploration of market‑based gas balancing, and stronger
fair‑access regulation to open pipeline facilities to eligible market
participants.
