Ruptured pipeline in Qingdao to be abandoned

Local authorities in Qingdao announced on Wednesday that a ruptured crude oil pipeline will be abandoned.

The announcement came five days after a leak caused an explosion that killed 55 people and left another eight missing.

The news office of Qingdao city government, in Shandong province, announced on its official micro blog that the pipeline, along with others located in the city’s Huangdao district, will be abandoned permanently.

Material once carried by pipes along the district’s Qinghuangdao and Liugongdao roads - which adjoin major residential areas - will be delivered by special lines for chemicals and crude oil in the district’s northern areas.

The path of the ruptured line will then be adapted into an ecological landscape corridor. The corridor plan will be made public, and opinions will be sought from residents, authorities said.

Before the explosion on Friday, the pipeline carried crude from Dongying, home of Shengli oilfield, the country’s second-largest, to Huangdao district, a port area.

The fact that the ruptured pipe was situated so close to a developed area has been questioned by the media and experts. A regulation that took effect in 2003 requires that crude oil pipelines be situated at least 15 meters away from public places and residences.