By Abbas Nazil
China has successfully converted a long-haul oil pipeline to transport carbon dioxide, marking a significant milestone in the nation’s carbon capture, utilization, and storage efforts.
The 17-mile pipeline delivered carbon dioxide to an oilfield in Henan province earlier this month, according to the state-owned China Oil and Gas Pipeline Network Corporation, known as PipeChina.
Officials described the trial as a “replicable and scalable” model that could accelerate China’s carbon capture deployment and support its “dual-carbon” climate goals of peaking emissions by 2030 and achieving carbon neutrality by 2060.
Transporting captured carbon has been a major logistical challenge, as emission sources are concentrated in eastern and coastal industrial hubs, while storage and utilization sites are largely located in the north and west.
Repurposing existing oil pipelines offers a major economic advantage, cutting investment costs by an estimated 40 to 80 percent and shortening construction timelines by up to 60 percent compared to building new lines.
The captured carbon is used for enhanced oil recovery, where carbon dioxide is injected into oilfields to boost crude production while permanently sequestering the greenhouse gas underground.
PipeChina highlighted that this approach provides a scalable solution for long-haul carbon transport and could form the backbone of a nationwide carbon dioxide infrastructure network.
In addition to repurposing pipelines, China is building new dedicated carbon transport infrastructure. Construction began in April on a 249-mile pipeline in Jilin province, expected to sequester four million tonnes of carbon dioxide annually.
These industrial developments coincide with rapid growth in renewable energy capacity. By 2025, renewable sources accounted for over 60 percent of China’s total power capacity, producing roughly four trillion kilowatt-hours—surpassing the entire power consumption of the European Union.
Experts suggest that integrating carbon capture transport with expanding renewable energy can enhance China’s climate strategy while maintaining energy security and supporting industrial growth.
The successful pilot demonstrates the potential for combining infrastructure repurposing with emerging climate technologies to lower costs, improve efficiency, and accelerate the adoption of CCUS on a national scale.
China’s approach is now being watched globally as a model for efficiently scaling carbon capture and storage while leveraging existing energy infrastructure to reduce emissions.
If expanded, the project could provide a template for other industrialized nations facing similar challenges in transporting and storing captured carbon at scale.
The milestone signals China’s commitment to innovation in climate mitigation and highlights the growing role of CCUS in global carbon reduction strategies.
