China oil pipeline reopens after quake

BEIJING, May 14 (UPI) -- The China National Petroleum Corp. Wednesday said its Lanzhou-Chengdu-Chongqing pipeline is back in service following Monday's quake.

CNPC said the pipeline was shut down for 22 hours following the afternoon quake measuring 7.9 on the Richter scale that struck Sichuan province in southwestern China. At least 15,000 people were killed and tens of thousands more are injured, buried or missing.

The official Xinhua news agency said the quake triggered a leak at the Chengdu oil pump station. No other leaks were reported and the pipeline remains under monitoring.

China Petrochemical Corp., the country's largest refiner, said it shut down most of its natural gas wells because of the quake but refineries remained online.

CNPC said it would reserve 100,000 tons of refined oil for the stricken area.