The first segment of the Lianyungang-to-Yizheng crude oil pipeline, the Lianyungang-Huai'an section, China's first 10-million-ton annual capacity crude pipeline to launch in the initial year of the "15th Five-Year Plan" period, has been successfully commissioned today (13th).

This pipeline traverses the water network region of northern Jiangsu, with over 90% of its entire route passing through waterways, making its construction difficulty among the highest for domestic pipelines of its kind. The Lian-Huai section of the Lianyungang-to-Yizheng pipeline travels through the southeastern area of Lianyungang and the northeastern plains of Huai'an, with a total waterway route length of 138 kilometers, accounting for more than 95% of the total line length.

In northern Jiangsu Province, the crossings of the Xinyi River and the Guan River represent the longest and technically most challenging control projects of the entire line, serving as the core node determining the overall progress of the line's completion. Wen Yunming, manager of the Jiangsu Project Division of the National Pipeline Network Group Construction Project Management Company, stated: "We innovatively adopted a combined crossing technique of 'directional drilling + internal beach connection + directional drilling', with a single crossing section length of approximately 5.7 kilometers. This opened the key passage for the entire line's completion 12 days ahead of schedule."

During construction, the pipeline cumulatively crossed 9 large and medium-sized waterways, 439 small rivers, and 14 railway and highway crossings, presenting immense challenges to the construction operations. To minimize the impact on surface ecology and water system environments, the project prioritized the use of directional drilling crossing techniques, executing a total of 69 directional drilling operations with a combined crossing distance of 47.68 kilometers.