Myanmar has officially opened 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) pipeline are a joint venture between the China National Petroleum Corp. and Myanmar Oil and Gas Enterprise. Both are state companies.

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. The refineries to receive the oil are not yet completed, but trial operations at the port began Wednesday.

Myanmar Vice President Nyan Tun said Thursday that the pipeline will generate revenues for his country and supply crude oil for domestic consumption, though he did not specify any figures.

Activists in the region have protested the project, citing potential environmental risks and inadequate compensation for lost land.

Source: PennEnergy