Petroleum and Natural Gas Pipelines Protection Law of the PRC — Full English Translation (2010)

Adopted at the 15th Session of the Standing Committee of the Eleventh National People’s Congress on June 25, 2010

Effective: October 1, 2010

Table of Contents

Chapter I — General Provisions

Article 1 — This Law is formulated to protect petroleum and natural gas pipelines, ensure the safety of petroleum and natural gas transportation, and safeguard national energy security and public security.

Article 2 — This Law applies to the protection of pipelines transporting petroleum and natural gas within the territory of the People’s Republic of China.
This Law does not apply to the protection of urban gas pipelines and pipelines within the plant areas of oil refining, chemical and other enterprises.

Article 3 — For the purposes of this Law, “petroleum” includes crude oil and refined oil, and “natural gas” includes natural gas, coalbed methane and coal-to-gas.
For the purposes of this Law, “pipelines” includes pipelines and their ancillary facilities.

Article 4 — The energy authority of the State Council shall, in accordance with this Law, be in charge of pipeline protection work nationwide, be responsible for organizing the formulation and implementation of the national pipeline development plan, coordinating the linkage between the national pipeline development plan and other special plans, and coordinating major issues concerning pipeline protection across provinces, autonomous regions and municipalities directly under the Central Government. Other relevant authorities of the State Council shall, in accordance with the provisions of relevant laws and administrative regulations, be responsible for pipeline protection-related work within their respective scopes of duties.

Article 5 — The energy authorities of the people’s governments of provinces, autonomous regions and municipalities directly under the Central Government, and the departments designated by the people’s governments of cities divided into districts and counties, shall, in accordance with this Law, be in charge of pipeline protection work within their respective administrative regions, coordinate and handle major issues concerning pipeline protection within their respective administrative regions, guide and supervise relevant units in performing pipeline protection obligations, and investigate and deal with illegal acts endangering pipeline safety in accordance with law. Other relevant authorities of local people’s governments at or above the county level shall, in accordance with the provisions of relevant laws and administrative regulations, be responsible for pipeline protection-related work within their respective scopes of duties.
The energy authorities of the people’s governments of provinces, autonomous regions and municipalities directly under the Central Government and the departments designated by the people’s governments of cities divided into districts and counties are collectively referred to as the departments in charge of pipeline protection work of local people’s governments at or above the county level.

Article 6 — Local people’s governments at or above the county level shall strengthen their leadership over pipeline protection work within their respective administrative regions, supervise and inspect the relevant departments in performing their pipeline protection duties in accordance with law, and organize the elimination of major external hidden dangers to pipeline safety.

Article 7 — Pipeline enterprises shall comply with this Law and the laws and administrative regulations concerning planning, construction, work safety, quality supervision and environmental protection, implement the mandatory requirements of national technical standards, establish and improve their rules, regulations and operating procedures concerning pipeline protection and organize their implementation, publicize pipeline safety and protection knowledge, perform pipeline protection obligations, accept supervision exercised by the people’s governments and their relevant departments in accordance with law, and ensure the safe operation of pipelines.

Article 8 — No unit or individual may commit any act endangering pipeline safety.
With respect to acts endangering pipeline safety, any unit or individual has the right to report them to the department in charge of pipeline protection work of the local people’s government at or above the county level or other relevant departments. The department receiving the report shall handle it in a timely manner within its scope of duties.

Article 9 — The state encourages and promotes the research, development, popularization and application of new technologies for pipeline protection.

Chapter II — Pipeline Planning and Construction

Article 10 — The planning and construction of pipelines shall comply with the requirements of pipeline protection and follow the principles of safety, environmental protection, economical use of land and economic reasonableness.

Article 11 — The energy authority of the State Council shall organize the formulation of the national pipeline development plan in light of the needs of national economic and social development. In organizing the formulation of the national pipeline development plan, the opinions of the relevant authorities of the State Council and the people’s governments of the relevant provinces, autonomous regions and municipalities directly under the Central Government shall be sought.
The national pipeline development plan shall conform to the national energy plan and be coordinated with the overall land use plan, urban and rural planning, and the plans for mineral resources, environmental protection, water conservancy, railways, highways, waterways, ports and telecommunications.

Article 12 — Pipeline enterprises shall formulate pipeline construction plans in accordance with the national pipeline development plan, and submit the pipeline construction route selection schemes determined in the pipeline construction plans to the urban and rural planning authorities of the local people’s governments at or above the county level at the places where the pipelines are to be constructed for examination; where, upon examination, they conform to urban and rural planning, they shall be incorporated into the local urban and rural planning in accordance with law.
The use of pipeline construction land incorporated into urban and rural planning shall not be changed without authorization.

Article 13 — The route selection for pipeline construction shall avoid earthquake-active fault zones and areas prone to floods and geological disasters, and maintain the protection distances prescribed by this Law and relevant laws and administrative regulations and by the mandatory requirements of national technical standards from buildings, structures, railways, highways, waterways, ports, municipal facilities, military facilities, cables and optical cables.
Where the area through which a new pipeline passes is restricted by geographical conditions and cannot meet the pipeline protection requirements prescribed in the preceding paragraph, the pipeline enterprise shall put forward a protection scheme, which may be constructed only after it is reviewed and demonstrated by experts in pipeline protection and approved by the department in charge of pipeline protection work of the local people’s government at or above the county level at the place where the pipeline is located.
Pipeline construction projects shall undergo environmental impact assessment in accordance with law.

Article 14 — The use of land for pipeline construction shall be governed by the Land Administration Law of the People’s Republic of China and other laws and administrative regulations.
Where a pipeline lawfully constructed passes through collectively owned land or state-owned land for which others have obtained the right to use, and the use of the land is affected, the pipeline enterprise shall give compensation according to the use of the land at the time of pipeline construction.

Article 15 — No unit or individual may obstruct the construction of a pipeline project for which administrative license has been obtained or which has been filed for record and meets the conditions for commencement in accordance with laws and regulations of the State Council.

Article 16 — Pipeline construction shall comply with the provisions of laws and administrative regulations concerning quality management of construction projects.
Pipeline enterprises shall, in accordance with the provisions of relevant laws and administrative regulations, select survey, design, construction and project supervision units with corresponding qualifications to carry out pipeline construction.
The safety protection facilities of pipelines shall be designed, constructed and put into use simultaneously with the main pipeline works.
The quality of pipeline products and their accessories used in pipeline construction shall comply with the mandatory requirements of national technical standards.

Article 17 — The construction of pipelines crossing or passing through water conservancy projects, flood control facilities, river courses, waterways, railways, highways, ports, power facilities, communication facilities and municipal facilities shall comply with this Law and relevant laws and administrative regulations and implement the mandatory requirements of national technical standards.

Article 18 — Pipeline enterprises shall set up pipeline markers along the pipelines in accordance with the mandatory requirements of national technical standards. Where pipeline markers are damaged or safety warnings are unclear, the pipeline enterprises shall repair or update them in a timely manner.

Article 19 — After the completion of pipelines, completion acceptance shall be conducted in accordance with the relevant state provisions. The completion acceptance shall examine whether the pipelines comply with the pipeline protection requirements prescribed in this Law, and the pipelines may be formally put into use only after passing the acceptance.

Article 20 — Pipeline enterprises shall, within 60 days from the date of passing the completion acceptance of pipelines, submit the completion survey drawings to the department in charge of pipeline protection work of the local people’s government at or above the county level at the place where the pipelines are located for filing; the department in charge of pipeline protection work of the local people’s government at or above the county level shall distribute the completion survey drawings of pipelines submitted by pipeline enterprises to the planning, construction, land and resources, railway, transportation, water resources, public security and work safety supervision and administration departments of the people’s government at the same level and the relevant military organs.

Article 21 — Where local people’s governments at all levels, in formulating or adjusting the overall land use plan and urban and rural planning, need to reconstruct or relocate pipelines or add protection facilities, they shall negotiate with the pipeline enterprises to determine the compensation scheme.

Chapter III — Protection During Pipeline Operation

Article 22 — Pipeline enterprises shall establish and improve pipeline patrol systems and equip special personnel to carry out routine patrols of pipeline routes. Where pipeline patrol personnel discover circumstances or hidden dangers endangering pipeline safety, they shall handle and report them in a timely manner in accordance with provisions.

Article 23 — Pipeline enterprises shall regularly inspect and maintain pipelines to ensure that they are in good condition; key monitoring shall be conducted on sections and places with greater pipeline safety risks, and effective measures shall be taken to prevent pipeline accidents.
Pipelines that do not meet the conditions for safe use shall be updated, renovated or decommissioned in a timely manner by the pipeline enterprises.

Article 24 — Pipeline enterprises shall equip themselves with the personnel and technical equipment necessary for pipeline protection, research, develop and use advanced and applicable pipeline protection technologies, guarantee the funding necessary for pipeline protection, and reward units and individuals that make outstanding contributions to pipeline protection.

Article 25 — Where pipeline enterprises discover hidden dangers to pipeline safety, they shall eliminate them in a timely manner. Where pipeline enterprises have real difficulty in eliminating external hidden dangers to pipeline safety by themselves, they shall report them to the department in charge of pipeline protection work of the local people’s government at or above the county level. The department in charge of pipeline protection work receiving the report shall coordinate the elimination in a timely manner or request the people’s government to organize the timely elimination of the hidden dangers.

Article 26 — No unit or individual may encroach upon the land for which pipeline enterprises have lawfully obtained the right to use.
For the rational use of land, under the condition of ensuring pipeline safety, pipeline enterprises may agree with the relevant units and individuals to allow them to plant shallow-rooted crops. However, unless otherwise agreed, pipeline enterprises shall not compensate for crop losses caused by pipeline patrol, inspection and maintenance.

Article 27 — Where pipeline enterprises carry out operations such as patrol, inspection and maintenance of pipelines, the relevant units and individuals along the pipelines shall provide the necessary convenience.
Where losses are caused to holders of land use rights or other units or individuals by operations such as pipeline patrol, inspection and maintenance, the pipeline enterprises shall give compensation in accordance with law.

Article 28 — The following acts endangering pipeline safety are prohibited:
(1) opening or closing pipeline valves without authorization;
(2) damaging pipelines by moving, cutting, drilling, smashing, prying, dismantling or other means;
(3) moving, damaging or altering pipeline markers;
(4) driving heavy vehicles on the patrol access roads above buried pipelines;
(5) walking on or placing heavy objects on surface pipeline routes, overhead pipeline routes and pipe bridges.

Article 29 — It is prohibited to erect power lines or communication lines above the pipeline ancillary facilities listed in item (1) of Article 58 of this Law, or to carry out engineering excavation, engineering drilling or mining within the structural area of gas storage reservoirs.

Article 30 — Within the area of five meters on each side of the centerline of a pipeline route, the following acts endangering pipeline safety are prohibited:
(1) planting trees, shrubs, vines, reeds, bamboos or other deep-rooted plants whose roots may reach the buried part of the pipeline and damage the anticorrosion layer of the pipeline;
(2) taking soil, quarrying stone, using fire, stacking heavy objects, discharging corrosive substances, or using mechanical tools for excavation construction;
(3) digging ponds, building canals, building drying grounds, building aquaculture farms, building greenhouses, building livestock sheds, building houses, and building other buildings or structures.

Article 31 — Where the following buildings or structures are constructed on both sides of the centerline of a pipeline route or around the pipeline ancillary facilities listed in item (1) of Article 58 of this Law, the distance between the buildings or structures and the pipeline route and pipeline ancillary facilities shall comply with the mandatory requirements of national technical standards:
(1) densely populated buildings such as residential communities, schools, hospitals, entertainment venues, stations and shopping malls;
(2) places for the production, operation and storage of flammable and explosive articles such as substations, gas stations, refueling stations, oil storage tanks and gas storage tanks.
The mandatory requirements of national technical standards prescribed in the preceding paragraph shall be determined in accordance with the principles of ensuring the safety of pipelines, buildings and structures and economizing on land.

Article 32 — Within the area of 500 meters on each side of the centerline of a pipeline route crossing a river, anchoring, dragging anchors, sand excavation, dredging, quarrying stone and underwater blasting are prohibited. However, maintenance and dredging operations for flood control and navigable waterway smoothness under the condition of ensuring pipeline safety are excluded.

Article 33 — Within the area of 1,000 meters on each side of the centerline of a dedicated pipeline tunnel, except for the circumstances prescribed in paragraph 2 of this Article, quarrying stone, mining and blasting are prohibited.
Within the area prescribed in the preceding paragraph, where quarrying or blasting operations are genuinely necessary for the construction of public works such as railways, highways and water conservancy projects, they may be implemented only after approval by the department in charge of pipeline protection work of the county-level people’s government at the place where the pipeline is located and the adoption of necessary safety protection measures.

Article 34 — Without the consent of the pipeline enterprise, other units shall not use pipeline ancillary facilities such as dedicated accompanying roads, pipeline water works protection facilities and dedicated pipeline tunnels.

Article 35 — For the following construction operations, the construction unit shall apply to the department in charge of pipeline protection work of the county-level people’s government at the place where the pipeline is located:
(1) construction operations crossing or passing through pipelines;
(2) within the area from five to 50 meters on each side of the centerline of a pipeline route and within the area of 100 meters around the pipeline ancillary facilities listed in item (1) of Article 58 of this Law, newly building, reconstructing or expanding railways, highways and canals, erecting power lines, burying underground cables and optical cables, and setting up safety grounding bodies and lightning protection grounding bodies;
(3) within the area of 200 meters on each side of the centerline of a pipeline route and within the area of 500 meters around the pipeline ancillary facilities listed in item (1) of Article 58 of this Law, conducting blasting, seismic exploration, engineering excavation, engineering drilling or mining.
After receiving the application, the department in charge of pipeline protection work of the county-level people’s government shall organize the construction unit and the pipeline enterprise to negotiate and determine the construction operation scheme and sign a safety protection agreement; where negotiation fails, the department in charge of pipeline protection work shall organize a safety review and make a decision on whether to approve the operation.

Article 36 — Applications for the construction operations prescribed in paragraph 2 of Article 33 and Article 35 of this Law shall meet the following conditions:
(1) having a construction operation scheme that complies with the requirements of pipeline safety and public safety;
(2) having formulated an accident emergency plan;
(3) the construction operation personnel possess pipeline protection knowledge;
(4) having the equipment and facilities for ensuring safe construction operations.

Article 37 — For the construction operations prescribed in paragraph 2 of Article 33 and Article 35 of this Law, the pipeline enterprise shall be notified in writing seven days before the commencement of work. The pipeline enterprise shall assign special personnel to the site to provide safety guidance for pipeline protection.

Article 38 — Where pipeline enterprises carry out emergency repair operations on pipelines in emergency situations, they may first use the land or facilities of others, but shall promptly notify the owners or users of the land or facilities. Where losses are caused to the owners or users of the land or facilities, the pipeline enterprises shall give compensation in accordance with law.

Article 39 — Pipeline enterprises shall formulate their own emergency plans for pipeline accidents and file them with the department in charge of pipeline protection work of the county-level people’s government at the place where the pipelines are located; equip emergency rescue personnel and equipment; and regularly conduct emergency rescue drills for pipeline accidents.
Where a pipeline accident occurs, the pipeline enterprise shall immediately activate its emergency plan for pipeline accidents, promptly notify, in accordance with provisions, the units and residents that may be endangered by the accident, take effective measures to eliminate or mitigate the harm of the accident, and report to the department in charge of pipeline protection work of the county-level people’s government at the place where the accident occurred, the work safety supervision and administration department and other relevant departments in accordance with the provisions of laws and administrative regulations on accident investigation and handling.
The department in charge of pipeline protection work receiving the report shall promptly report the accident upward in accordance with provisions, and, in light of the actual circumstances of the pipeline accident, organize the adoption of accident handling measures or request the people’s government to promptly activate the emergency plan for pipeline accidents in its administrative region and organize emergency handling and rescue of the accident.

Article 40 — Where petroleum leaking from pipelines and petroleum discharged due to emergency repair of pipelines cause environmental pollution, the pipeline enterprises shall promptly treat the pollution. Where pipeline leakage is caused by the act of a third party, resulting in environmental pollution, the pipeline enterprise has the right to recover the treatment costs from the third party.
Liability for compensation for environmental pollution damage shall be governed by the relevant provisions of the Tort Liability Law of the People’s Republic of China and the laws on the prevention and control of environmental pollution.

Article 41 — Petroleum leaking from pipelines and petroleum discharged due to emergency repair of pipelines shall be recovered and treated by the pipeline enterprises, and no unit or individual may encroach upon, steal or scramble for it.

Article 42 — Where pipelines are decommissioned, sealed up or scrapped, the pipeline enterprises shall take the necessary safety protection measures and file them with the department in charge of pipeline protection work of the local people’s government at or above the county level.

Article 43 — Where key pipeline protection sites need to be guarded by the Chinese People’s Armed Police Force, this shall be carried out in accordance with the People’s Armed Police Law of the People’s Republic of China and the relevant provisions of the State Council and the Central Military Commission.

Chapter IV — Handling of Encounters Between Pipeline Construction Projects and Other Construction Projects

Article 44 — The encounter relationship between pipeline construction projects and other construction projects shall be handled in accordance with the provisions of law; where the law has no provisions, the parties to the construction projects shall handle it through negotiation in accordance with the following principles and provide each other with the necessary convenience:
(1) the construction project that starts later shall be subordinate to the construction project that starts earlier or has been completed;
(2) for construction projects that start at the same time, the construction project approved later shall be subordinate to the construction project approved earlier.
In accordance with the preceding paragraph, the construction project that starts later or is approved later shall comply with the safety protection requirements of the construction project that starts earlier, has been completed or is approved earlier; where the construction project that starts earlier, has been completed or is approved earlier needs to be reconstructed, relocated or have protection facilities added, the party to the construction project that starts later or is approved later shall bear the resulting additional costs.
Where a pipeline construction project encounters another construction project, the parties to the construction projects shall negotiate and determine the construction operation scheme and sign a safety protection agreement, and assign special personnel to supervise and guide each other’s construction on site.

Article 45 — Where a pipeline construction project lawfully approved needs to pass through another construction project under construction, the construction unit of the other construction project shall reserve a pipeline passage or pre-construct passage facilities in accordance with the needs of the pipeline construction project, and the pipeline enterprise shall bear the resulting additional costs.
Where another construction project lawfully approved needs to pass through a pipeline construction project under construction, the pipeline construction unit shall reserve a passage or pre-construct the relevant facilities in accordance with the needs of the other construction project, and the construction unit of the other construction project shall bear the resulting additional costs.

Article 46 — Where a pipeline construction project passes through a mineral resources exploitation area, the pipeline enterprise shall negotiate with the mineral resources exploitation enterprise to determine the safety protection scheme for the pipeline; where the mineral resources exploitation enterprise needs to pre-construct protection facilities or adopt other protection measures in accordance with the pipeline safety protection requirements, the pipeline enterprise shall bear the resulting additional costs.
Where a mineral resources exploitation enterprise fails to pre-construct protection facilities or adopt other protection measures as agreed, causing geological disasters such as ground subsidence, cracks and settlement, so that the pipeline needs to be reconstructed, relocated or have other protection measures adopted, the mineral resources exploitation enterprise shall bear the resulting additional costs.

Article 47 — Where construction projects such as railways and highways construct water works protection facilities such as flood control and flow diversion facilities, which may affect pipeline protection, the pipeline enterprise shall be notified in advance and attention shall be paid to protecting the completed pipeline water works protection facilities downstream.
Where the construction of water works protection facilities such as flood control and flow diversion facilities by a construction project affects the functions of the completed pipeline water works protection facilities downstream, and the pipeline water works protection facilities need to be newly built, reconstructed or expanded, the construction unit shall bear the resulting additional costs.

Article 48 — The water administrative authorities of local people’s governments at or above the county level shall give due consideration to pipeline protection in formulating flood control and flood discharge schemes.
Where flood discharge is needed in the area through which pipelines pass, the water administrative authorities of local people’s governments at or above the county level shall, after the flood discharge scheme is determined, promptly notify the department in charge of pipeline protection work of the people’s government at the same level and the pipeline enterprises of the flood discharge volume and time, or announce them to society. The department in charge of pipeline protection work and the pipeline enterprises shall adopt flood control protection measures for the pipelines.

Article 49 — Where a pipeline encounters a waterway and it is genuinely necessary to construct pipeline protection facilities in the waterway, technical demonstration of navigation standards shall be conducted, and approval by the waterway authority shall be obtained. After the completion of pipeline protection facilities, acceptance by the waterway authority shall be obtained.
For the construction operations prescribed in the preceding paragraph, navigation marks shall be set up within the approved construction area, and the costs of setting up and maintaining the navigation marks shall be borne by the pipeline enterprise.

Chapter V — Legal Liability

Article 50 — Where pipeline enterprises commit any of the following acts, the department in charge of pipeline protection work of the local people’s government at or above the county level shall order them to make corrections within a time limit; where corrections are not made within the time limit, a fine of not less than 20,000 yuan and not more than 100,000 yuan shall be imposed; and the directly responsible person in charge and other directly responsible personnel shall be given sanctions:
(1) failing to patrol, inspect and maintain pipelines in accordance with this Law;
(2) failing to update, renovate or decommission pipelines that do not meet the conditions for safe use in a timely manner;
(3) failing to set up, repair or update the relevant pipeline markers in accordance with this Law;
(4) failing to file the completion survey drawings of pipelines with the department in charge of pipeline protection work of the people’s government in accordance with this Law;
(5) failing to formulate an emergency plan for pipeline accidents, or failing to file its emergency plan for pipeline accidents with the department in charge of pipeline protection work of the people’s government in accordance with this Law;
(6) failing, upon the occurrence of a pipeline accident, to take effective measures to eliminate or mitigate the harm of the accident;
(7) failing to take the necessary safety protection measures for pipelines that have been decommissioned, sealed up or scrapped.
Where an act of a pipeline enterprise violating this Law also violates other laws such as those on quality management of construction projects, work safety and fire protection, penalties shall be imposed in accordance with the provisions of other laws.
Where pipeline enterprises cause damage to the lawful rights and interests of others, civil liability shall be borne in accordance with law.

Article 51 — Where anyone damages pipelines by moving, cutting, drilling, smashing, prying, dismantling or other means, or steals or scrambles for petroleum or natural gas transported, leaking or discharged by pipelines, if the act does not yet constitute a crime, public security administration penalties shall be imposed in accordance with law.

Article 52 — Where anyone violates the provisions of Article 29, 30, 32 or paragraph 1 of Article 33 of this Law and commits an act endangering pipeline safety, the department in charge of pipeline protection work of the local people’s government at or above the county level shall order the cessation of the illegal act; where the circumstances are relatively serious, a fine of not less than 10,000 yuan and not more than 100,000 yuan shall be imposed on the unit, and a fine of not less than 200 yuan and not more than 2,000 yuan on the individual; the illegally constructed buildings, structures or other facilities shall be demolished within a time limit; where they are not demolished within the time limit, the department in charge of pipeline protection work of the local people’s government at or above the county level shall organize the demolition, and the resulting costs shall be borne by the illegal actor.

Article 53 — Where anyone carries out the construction operations prescribed in paragraph 2 of Article 33 or Article 35 of this Law without approval in accordance with law, the department in charge of pipeline protection work of the local people’s government at or above the county level shall order the cessation of the illegal act; where the circumstances are relatively serious, a fine of not less than 10,000 yuan and not more than 50,000 yuan shall be imposed; the illegally constructed buildings, structures or other facilities endangering pipeline safety shall be demolished within a time limit; where they are not demolished within the time limit, the department in charge of pipeline protection work of the local people’s government at or above the county level shall organize the demolition, and the resulting costs shall be borne by the illegal actor.

Article 54 — Where anyone violates this Law and commits any of the following acts, the department in charge of pipeline protection work of the local people’s government at or above the county level shall order correction; where the circumstances are serious, a fine of not less than 200 yuan and not more than 1,000 yuan shall be imposed:
(1) opening or closing pipeline valves without authorization;
(2) moving, damaging or altering pipeline markers;
(3) driving heavy vehicles on the patrol access roads above buried pipelines;
(4) walking on or placing heavy objects on surface pipeline routes, overhead pipeline routes and pipe bridges;
(5) obstructing pipeline construction carried out in accordance with law.

Article 55 — Where anyone violates this Law and commits an act endangering pipeline safety, causing damage to pipeline enterprises, civil liability shall be borne in accordance with law.

Article 56 — Where local people’s governments at or above the county level and their departments in charge of pipeline protection work or other relevant departments, in violation of this Law, fail to promptly organize the elimination of external hidden dangers to pipeline safety that should be organized to be eliminated, fail to investigate and deal with acts endangering pipeline safety in accordance with law after discovering them or receiving reports thereof, or commit other acts of failing to perform their duties in accordance with this Law, their superior organs shall order correction, and the directly responsible person in charge and other directly responsible personnel shall be given sanctions in accordance with law.

Article 57 — Where a violation of this Law constitutes a crime, criminal liability shall be pursued in accordance with law.

Chapter VI — Supplementary Provisions

Article 58 — For the purposes of this Law, pipeline ancillary facilities include:
(1) pressure boosting stations, heating stations, metering stations, oil gathering stations, gas gathering stations, oil transmission stations, gas transmission stations, gas distribution stations, treatment plants, pigging stations, valve rooms, valve wells, venting facilities, oil depots, gas storage reservoirs, loading and unloading trestles and loading and unloading yards of pipelines;
(2) water works protection facilities, wind protection facilities, lightning protection facilities, earthquake resistance facilities, communication facilities, safety monitoring facilities, power facilities, pipe embankments, pipe bridges and crossing facilities such as dedicated culverts and tunnels of pipelines;
(3) corrosion protection facilities such as cathodic protection stations, cathodic protection test piles, anode ground beds and stray current drainage stations of pipelines;
(4) leak detection devices of pipelines crossing railways and highways;
(5) other ancillary facilities of pipelines.

Article 59 — Densely populated places and places for the production, operation and storage of flammable and explosive articles that were already built within the pipeline protection distance before the implementation of this Law shall be relocated, cleared or have necessary protection measures adopted in a planned, step-by-step manner by the local people’s government in light of the local actual circumstances. Where the completed pipelines need to be reconstructed, relocated or have necessary protection measures adopted, the compensation scheme shall be determined through negotiation with the pipeline enterprises.

Article 60 — The State Council may formulate special provisions on the protection of offshore petroleum and natural gas pipelines in light of the specific circumstances of offshore petroleum and natural gas pipelines.

Article 61 — This Law shall take effect on October 1, 2010.

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