On July 3rd, 2020, Mr. Li Kai, the Deputy General Manager of PetroChina West-East Gas Pipeline & Sales Company, visited Hilong Group on a study tour with a team from his company. Both parties held in-depth discussions on possible cooperation opportunities.

The two sides also held in-depth technical discussions and cooperation negotiations after the team from PetroChina visited the equipment center, pull test facility, data analysis center, and the mechanical and chemical performance testing laboratory of Shenglong Oil and Gas Pipeline Inspection Technology Co., Ltd., a subsidiary of Hilong Group.

Mr. Li Kai said at the meeting that Shenglong’s pull test facility ranks top in China in terms of scale and technical level, and Hilong’s independently-developed magnetic flux leakage in-line inspection technology boasts a bright future. He also spoke highly of Hilong’s powerful research and innovation capabilities.

He said, "There are approximately 600,000 girth welds in the PetroChina West-East Gas Pipelines. Less than 20,000 girth welds were detected by the excavation way in 2019, which did not meet our expectations. We hope to cooperate with Hilong to jointly develop girth weld Inspection technology to realize In-Line inspection of pipeline girth welds."

Mr. Dai Daliang, Executive President of Hilong Group, said, "Customer demand drives our business development. To satisfy customer needs is our mission and the reason behind our existence. There is a huge market for pipeline girth welds inspection and broad application prospects. We are keen to cooperate with PetroChina to increase investment and resource allocation, achieve breakthroughs in girth welds inspection technology, and improve its accuracy. Furthermore, Shenglong possesses magnetic flux leakage and electromagnetic eddy current internal inspection equipment that can cater to multiple pipe diameters ranging from 4 to 56 inches. We are looking forward to more cooperation opportunities between the two companies to make greater contributions to the safe operation of the West-East Gas Pipelines."

Established in March 2000, PetroChina West-East Gas Pipeline & Sales Company is a regional company directly under China National Petroleum Corporation. It is responsible for the West-East Gas Pipelines Project construction, production, and operation management, and natural gas market development and sales. The West-East Gas Pipeline Project is a landmark project launched by the Central Committee of the Party and the State Council for the implementation of the Western Development Strategy. It is one of China’s extra-large infrastructure construction projects for the new century. The completion and commissioning of this project is crucial to adjust China's energy structure, push economic growth in the central and western regions, alleviate the tension between energy supply and demand in the central and eastern regions, especially the Yangtze River Delta, and improve the quality of the environment and people's living standards.