BEIJING - The third natural gas pipeline from Northwestern China's Shaanxi province to Beijing was completed Friday and will be put into use on Jan 4, according to an official of the State-owned China National Petroleum Corp (CNPC).

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Zhao Yujian, head of the Pipeline Bureau of the CNPC, said at the new pipeline's completion ceremony that the 896-km-long pipeline can pump as much as 15 billion cubic meters of natural gas annually.

The new pipeline will boost the gas supply to Beijing and other areas in the Bohai Rim region, including Shandong, Tianjin and Hebei.

The first and second Shaanxi-Beijing pipelines have a total capacity of 20 billion cubic meters per year and are confronting great pressure as demand for gas climbs especially in winter.

The CNPC started the construction of the pipeline in May 2009 with the purpose to ensure sufficient gas supply to the Bohai Rim region.