Shanghai has started construction of a US$360m gas grid and industry executives are talking to BP and Royal Dutch/Shell about investing in it, reported Shanghai Daily. The grid, which should be completed by 2004, will distribute natural gas from the East China Sea and from the huge crosscountry pipeline that is also currently being built. Other cities located along the pipeline have plans to build similar grids. Government officials in Shanghai said they expected the city to use 3bn cubic metres of gas a year by 2005.