Myanmar opens deep sea port terminal for pipeline for Mideast oil to China

Myanmar has held a ceremonial opening of a deep sea port off its western coast, part of a $2.45 billion port and pipeline project that will carry crude oil from the Middle East to China.

The port and 770-kilometer (480 mile-) long oil pipeline is a joint venture between the China National Petroleum Corporation and Myanmar Oil and Gas Enterprise.

Myanmar's Kyemon daily reported Friday that the port has 12 storage tanks with a combined capacity of 22 million gallons of oil.

CNOC said in a statement on its website that a recently completed pipeline from Kyaukphyu district in Myanmar's Rakhine state to China's Yunnan province will be able to transport an estimated 190 million gallons of oil per day.