(Yicai Global) Oct. 18 -- The natural gas pipeline China developed with Russia will open in 2019, China National Petroleum Corp. (CNPC) General manager Zhang Jiahua said at the 19th National Congress of the Communist Part of China.

The Chinese state-owned oil and gas enterprise had previously signed a cooperation contract with Gazprom PJSC [MCX:GAZP; LSE:OGZD; FWB:GAZ], marking the gas supply project's entrance into a crucial phase, Zhang said.

The Changqing Oil Field in Xi'an has yielded 50 million tons so far this year and has a full-year target of 53 million tons, said Zhang. CNPC's oil and gas output will surpass that of last year if natural gas output growth is counted, he said. 

Zhang responded to rumors that CNPC and China Petrochemical Corp. (SINOPEC) plan to have initial public offerings in America, saying that it depended on government policy and details remain uncertain.