SINGAPORE: * China's Sinopec has started injecting natural gas into a new underground storage in central China, one of the largest planned by the country over the next few years, the state energy group said on Monday* Wen-23 storage, built from a depleted gas field in central province of Henan, has a total designed storage capacity of 10.4 billion cubic metres (bcm), including 8.4 bcm under phase one, Sinopec added
* Once completed, Wen-23 storage will be connected to several natural gas trunk lines operated by Sinopec, such as the Yulin-Jinan line and Ordos-Changzhou line that connect gas fields in north China's Ordos basin with the consumers in the eastern provinces
* The new facility brings China's total underground gas storages to 26 from 25. The country's largest oil and gas producer PetroChina operates 23 of them. Total working capacity makes up less than 5 percent of China's total gas consumption.