Horgos Compressor Station Transmits Over 600 Billion Cubic Meters of Gas

The Horgos initial compressor station in Xinjiang has surpassed 600 billion cubic meters in cumulative natural gas transmission since starting operations in 2009, according to People's Daily. Managed by PipeChina's Western Pipeline Company, the station acts as the primary intake hub for lines two and three of the West-to-East Gas Pipeline. With an annual transmission capacity of 60 billion cubic meters and compressor capacity exceeding 240 megawatts, the facility blends imported natural gas from Central Asia with local coal-to-gas supplies to serve 27 provincial-level regions and Hong Kong.

Surpassing the 600-billion-cubic-meter threshold highlights the ongoing stability of China's primary overland energy corridor connecting Central Asia to coastal demand centers. By functioning as Asia's largest single natural gas compressor station by installed capacity, Horgos demonstrates how cross-border pipeline architecture can be paired with domestic synthetic gas to mitigate external supply shocks. The corridor's continuity remains critical for maintaining uninterrupted industrial and residential energy supplies across the Yangtze and Pearl River Deltas.

The Horgos initial compressor station in northwestern China's Xinjiang region has transmitted more than 600 billion cubic meters of natural gas since it entered commercial service in 2009, People's Daily reported. Operated by the Western Pipeline Company of China Oil & Gas Piping Network Corporation (PipeChina), the station acts as the gateway hub for the Second and Third West-to-East Gas Pipelines. The facility features an annual transmission capacity of 60 billion cubic meters and total compressor power exceeding 240 megawatts, giving it the largest installed capacity of any single gas compressor station in Asia, according to the report. The facility manages a dual-source intake system designed to stabilize supplies. On the cross-border side, it connects to lines A, B, and C of the Central Asia-China Gas Pipeline network, while domestically it integrates synthetic natural gas produced from coal in Xinjiang's Ili Kazakh Autonomous Prefecture. This configuration is aimed at buffering fluctuations in foreign import volumes while encouraging localized, cleaner utilization of Xinjiang's coal reserves. The combined flows pass through trunk pipelines serving 27 provincial-level administrative regions and the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, covering the consumption needs of more than 500 million residents and major industrial operations in the Yangtze and Pearl River Deltas. State media also emphasized environmental and operational modifications at the facility. Horgos houses an industrial waste-heat power generation system utilizing exhaust heat from the compressor turbines, yielding an average of over 65 million kilowatt-hours of electricity annually to offset the station's external power consumption. Combined with solar power installations and venting gas recovery measures, the facility seeks to curb operational emissions. According to calculations cited in the report, transmitting 600 billion cubic meters of natural gas is equivalent to displacing approximately 798 million metric tons of standard coal, mitigating an estimated 877 million metric tons of carbon dioxide and 435 million metric tons of dust. Since 2025, the facility has expanded digital maintenance systems under PipeChina's 'smart station' program. On-site infrastructure now integrates pan-tilt laser methane detectors and algorithmic compressor diagnostics to monitor machinery and identify faults before equipment failures occur. Technical teams have also deployed business intelligence and low-code platforms to unify production data and streamline operational accounting.