China Gas investigating cause of pipeline explosion in central China (updated)

China Gas Holdings

16/06/2021 01:13

(Adds details on company response, ownership of unit)
    June 16 (Reuters) - Gas pipeline infrastructure facilities
operator China Gas Holdings Ltd  0384.HK  said on Wednesday it
was investigating the cause of a gas pipeline explosion in
central China over the weekend, and results were so far
uncertain.
    The blast, which occurred on Sunday in the city of Shiyan,
in Hubei province, reportedly killed 25 people and injured more
than 100, according to reports by state broadcaster CCTV as of
Monday.  urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL3N2NW1R0
    Shiyan Dongfeng Zhongran City Gas Development Co Ltd, a
non-wholly-owned unit of China Gas, is one of the gas suppliers
for the area. 
    In its statement, China Gas said it had established an
emergency response group to work with government departments on
emergency measures and to investigate the cause of the incident.
    The Hong Kong-listed company's shares plunged about 15% on
Tuesday prior to a trading halt. China Gas said it had applied
to the stock exchange for its shares to resume trading from
Wednesday morning.
    China Gas added that the operation right for piped gas in
that area was originally owned by a gas company under Dongfeng
Motor Corp, which in 2015 contributed the gas pipeline network
while a China Gas unit contributed cash to jointly establish
Shiyan Dongfeng, the unit in question. 
    

 (Reporting by Rashmi Ashok in Bengaluru; Editing by Jacqueline
Wong and Leslie Adler)
 ((Rashmi.Ashok@thomsonreuters.com; +918061822604;))