China will accelerate expanding oil and gas distribution in the next decade to ensure energy security and help boost industry, its top economic and energy planners said yesterday.

The nation will have an oil and gas distribution network as long as 240,000 kilometers by 2025, up from 112,000 km at the end of 2015, according to a plan by the National Development and Reform Commission and the National Energy Administration.

Despite great achievements over recent years, China needs to accelerate increasing its energy distribution to support surging demand.

Focus will be on the northeast, northwest and southwest regions, which lack tunnels to export oil and gas.

The nation will also speed up digitizing the networks to ensure maintenance of the tunnels, helped by more advanced information technology.

China expects to improve energy supply and transport self-sufficiency in the next decade and will upgrade equipment to help it better deal with natural disasters.

Upgrading the energy transport system will also boost the heavy machinery industry and engineering industries.

The developing energy network will cover the country. Oil channels will reach cities with more than 1 million residents and the gas network will cover those with at least 500,000 by 2025. Officials also set a mid-term target for the network to reach 169,000 km by 2020. Natural gas will be given higher priority for development.