China Energy/Power Technology, Strategic Layout of Resources: News & Discussions

[JSCh]

Xiongan creates chances for geothermal energy industry
Xinhua Finance in www.cfbond.com
2018-07-19 10:03

The Xiongan New Area is gathering pace in developing geothermal energy, and more opportunities will be created for the industry, the Shanghai Securities News reported Tuesday.

It is a new economic zone about 100 kilometers southwest of Beijing, which spans the counties of Xiongxian, Rongcheng and Anxin in Hebei Province, and home to Baiyangdian, a major wetland in northern China.

Two Chinese officials in charge of the Xiongan New Area and China's energy administration both met with former President of Iceland Olafur R. Grimsson recently, to discuss collaboration between the two countries on geothermal energy development from technological and commercial aspects as well as the overall concept.

As a new type of clean energy, geothermal energy, together with other renewable energies, are inevitable choices for China to promote its supply-side energy reforms.

According to China's top-level design for the future, the geothermal energy industry is at the center in the building of the Xiongan New Area.

From the economic perspective, geothermal energy is an excellent choice as well.

As the research center for Hebei Province on geothermal energy, predicted the cost for its heat supply by the geothermal well is about 40 percent lower than that by the boiler.

The time span for cost recovery is eight to ten years in general, as estimated by the center.

Currently, the development of its geothermal energy is at its preliminary stage, and its related heat supply has been extended to the county of Xiongxian and a wide range of rural areas, according to the report by the Shanghai Securities News.

The energy in the counties of Xiongxian and Rongcheng is provided by the Sinopec Green Energy Geothermal Development Co. in patches, but that in other regions is produced via the geothermal well dispersively.

The Xiongan Group and the PetroChina Huabei Oilfield Company have both declared their involvement in the exploitation of Xiongan's geothermal energy, saying that they are working on plans and carrying out research related to the said field.

 

[JSCh]

Second stage of Yamal LNG project to be launched next month
Source: Xinhua| 2018-07-19 20:21:57|Editor: Shi Yinglun


MOSCOW, July 19 (Xinhua) -- Russian gas producer Novatek said Thursday that it plans to launch the second production line of the Yamal liquefied natural gas (LNG) project in early August.

"The project will reach its full capacity early next year," Novatek CEO Leonid Mikhelson was quoted by TASS news agency as saying.

Located in Russia's Yamal Peninsula in the Arctic, the project is owned by Novatek (50.1 percent), France's Total (20 percent), China National Petroleum Corporation (20 percent) and China's Silk Road Fund (9.9 percent).

The project will consist of three production lines with each having a capacity of 5.5 million tons per year. The first production line started operation in December 2017 and the third one is expected to be commissioned in 2019.

Russia's share in the global LNG market will rise from 4 percent to above 8 percent by the completion of the Yamal project. As agreed, at least 4 million tones of LNG will be shipped to China every year.

 

[JSCh]

China turns to Russia for LNG amid escalating trade tension with US
By Shen Weiduo Source:Global Times Published: 2018/7/22 21:28:39

China eyes Russia LNG amid trade tension

Given that China has turned to Russia for liquefied natural gas (LNG) imports amid escalating Sino-US trade tension, experts warned that the trade disputes might extend to the energy sector if the US imposes tariffs on more Chinese imports.

According to a report from domestic news site thepaper.com, China and Russia are negotiating cooperation on pipeline natural gas. If they reach an agreement, Sino-Russia natural gas trade volume is expected to exceed 70 billion cubic meters in the next 10 years, the report said, citing Nur Bekri, the director of the International Cooperation Department of the National Energy Administration in China.

By then, Russia will become the largest supplier of natural gas to China.

Sun Yang, a natural gas analyst at bulk commodity services provider chem365.net, told the Global Times on Sunday that with the proposed LNG contract with Russia, it seems that China is indeed preparing for a "final shot" against the US amid the escalating Sino-US trade row.

"Previously, China excluded LNG from a list of proposed retaliatory tariffs that it seeks to impose on US goods, indicating that we are still leaving space for negotiations, a stance China has insisted on during the ongoing trade tension with the US," Sun said.

"China's imports of LNG from the US have also grown very fast recently. Many LNG plants in the US are seeking to cooperate with China because of the large market," Sun said.

According to a Reuters report in May, more than two dozen proposed US LNG plants are waiting for customer commitments to reach a final investment decision, and many of them looking to China for deals.

"These enterprises might be influenced," Sun noted.

Wang Jun, deputy director of the Department of Information at the China Center for International Economic Exchanges, told the Global Times on Sunday that if Sino-US trade really deteriorates, China is poised to take countermeasures with the same proportion and scale if the US imposes further tariffs on Chinese imports.

Considering China's limited overall imports from the US, it's highly possible that trade tensions will extend to the energy sector.

On Friday, US President Donald Trump said he's "ready" to put tariffs on all $505 billion of Chinese goods imported to the US, CNBC reported.

"The energy sector, especially the LNG sector, is where the two could have reached an agreement, since the US needs to export its resources while China has the demand to import them," Wang said, adding that the cooperation is mutually beneficial.

"Given the situation, China has resorted to Russia for imports, but for the US, it will lose a big LNG export market it could have got access to," Wang noted.

China will become the world's top importer of natural gas next year, boosted by LNG purchases, the International Energy Agency said in its Gas 2018 annual report.

 

[JSCh]

China-Myanmar oil pipeline carries more than 10 mln t crude to China
July 24, 2018

Abstract : The China-Myanmar oil pipeline has been running smoothly for 425 days, unloading 47 oil tankers of 10.98 million tonnes of crude oil as of July 17 since May 19, 2017, according to news release by CNPC.

BEIJING, July 24 (Xinhua) -- The China-Myanmar crude oil pipeline has been running smoothly for 425 days, unloading 47 oil tankers of 10.98 million metric tons (tonnes) of crude oil as of July 17 since May 19, 2017, according to news release by China National Petroleum Corporation (CNPC).

The first phase of the China-Myanmar crude oil pipeline is designed to have a transportation capacity of 13 million tonnes annually.

The China-Myanmar pipeline transported fine quality crude from international market to refineries in Yunnan province, effectively filling the blank of refined oil production in Yunnan and driving the upgrading of the petrochemical industry in China’s southwest regions. (Edited by Niu Huizhe, niuhuizhe@xinhua.org)

 

[JSCh]

Can China Replicate The U.S. Shale Boom?
By Irina Slav - Jul 24, 2018, 11:00 AM CDT

​

The world’s largest gas importer is also home to the world’s largest reserves of shale gas—gas that is just sitting there, at least for now. China has been struggling to repeat the U.S. shale revolution for a number of reasons, chief of them geology, but now it may have the chance to advance its shale gas agenda. Technology is what will make all the difference.

China has recoverable shale gas reserves of 1,115 trillion cu ft, the latest estimate of the Energy Information Administration from 2015 shows. This makes the country the biggest reservoir of shale gas, with Argentina a distant second with a little over 800 trillion cu ft. Yet most of these 1,115 trillion cu ft of gas are in geologically challenging formations.

“U.S. shale reserves are like a plate, in relatively good shape and buried evenly close to the surface. For China’s shale reserves, it’s more like a plate that was smashed on the ground, and then stomped on. We’re trying to identify those scattered reserves and trying our best to get to the bigger ones.” That’s what a Sinopec chief engineer told Bloomberg, explaining the challenges that the state energy giant has encountered in its attempts to tap the country’s enormous shale reserves.

In addition to the geological problems, there is also the issue of technology exchange. U.S. fracking tech developers are wary of exporting to China on intellectual property concerns so Chinese companies are having to develop their own technology and equipment. Which is actually fine, since U.S. equipment was made for the U.S. “plate” rather than the Chinese one.

It’s this equipment and these technologies that could help Sinopec and CNPC boost their currently modest shale gas production. Last year, China produced a total 9 billion cubic meters and Sinopec and CNPC expect shale gas production to rise to 10 and 12 billion cubic meters by 2020, respectively.

This compares with plans for annual national shale gas production of 100 billion cu m made back in 2012. It also compares to estimated total annual gas demand of 325 billion cubic meters in 2020, according to Sanford C. Bernstein. Since 2012, the government has revised down its shale gas expectations substantially but still eyes 2020 shale gas production of 30 billion cubic meters. Compared with Sinopec’s and CNPC’s plans, Beijing is still being overoptimistic.

Meanwhile, drilling and production equipment is being adjusted to the peculiarities of the Chinese shale patch. And costs are being lowered. One example is the bridge plug, Bloomberg reports, which is used to plug wells during drilling to prevent loss of gas. Chinese drillers originally bought bridge plugs for US$30,000 (200,000 yuan) apiece. Now, they are producing them for US$2,680 (18,000 yuan) and exporting them to the company that supplied them with bridge plugs originally.

Pressure pumps are also being adjusted for China’s much deeper wells since those manufactured for U.S. shale gas wells are not powerful enough. Sinopec, for one, has developed a pressure pump that’s 40 percent more powerful than U.S. ones. It has also cut its exploration drilling costs by 40 percent over the last eight years by making all its drilling equipment in-house.

Some analysts believe that Chinese drillers also need regulatory changes to make the shale gas boom happen by encouraging more competition, but it looks like the state giants are managing even without a lot of competition. Uncomfortably high dependence on imports is a powerful motivator for innovation.


Can China Replicate The U.S. Shale Boom? | OilPrice.com

 

[JSCh]

Russian mega gas project with China going full-steam ahead
Published time: 21 Mar, 2018 09:14

© Gazprom​

Three quarters of the vast Power of Siberia natural gas pipeline to China has been completed. Over 1,629km of piping now stretches across Russian territory, according to Gazprom.

"The construction of the Power of Siberia gas pipeline is going on at a high tempo. It is a link between the gas production centers and consumers,” the company said in a statement after a meeting of its board of directors.

According to a contract signed in 2014 between Gazprom and China’s CNPC, Russia will deliver 38 billion cubic meters of gas to China annually for 30 years. The contract is worth $400 billion. Gazprom confirmed on Wednesday that deliveries will start in December 2019.

The Russian company has been building the pipeline from the gas deposit in Siberia to Russia’s Far East. At the border in Blagoveshchensk, the pipeline will be extended into China. Gas will be delivered both to Russian consumers in the Far East and to China.

Russia is pushing for second gas pipeline to China, the Power of Siberia 2. This pipeline is intended to deliver an additional 30 billion cubic meters of gas per year to Russia’s eastern partner. The countries have signed preliminary documents on the pipeline, but have not agreed prices.

© Gazprom

​

Russian mega gas project with China going full-steam ahead — RT Business News

Heilongjiang Sets Up Firm to Handle China-Russia LNG Pipeline
LIU JING & TANG SHIHUA
DATE: TUE, 07/31/2018 - 19:13 / SOURCE:YICAI

Heilongjiang Sets Up Firm to Handle China-Russia LNG Pipeline​

(Yicai Global) July 31 -- The provincial government of Heilongjiang has set up a company to build and operate a natural gas pipeline connecting the northern Chinese region with Russia.

Heilongjiang Natural Gas Pipeline Network was established in provincial capital Harbin today, state-backed China News Service reported. The network it has been founded to build is set to cost CNY13 billion (USD1.9 billion) and encompass 36 lines covering 2,800 kilometers, connecting 12 major cities and branching out into surrounding counties.

The firm is currently devising a plan for construction and hopes to begin work by the end of this year, the report said. It expects to enter operation around the end of next year at the same time as the China-Russia eastern route natural gas pipeline, which is set to increase LNG imports from Russia to about 38 billion cubic meters a year, roughly equal to 16 percent of all natural gas consumed in China in 2017.

China and Russia resumed talks for their western pipeline earlier this month, from which a successful deal could see the Eurasian nation becoming China’s biggest LNG supplier as ties between the world’s second-largest economy and the United States continue to waver. The western line would add another 30 billion cubic meters a year and the Yamal LNG megaproject, which sends gas to China from Russia via the Arctic Circle, could add a further four billion.

 

[JSCh]

China's Largest Grid-Connected Battery Station Powers Up
TANG SHIHUA & LIU JING
DATE: FRI, 08/03/2018 - 11:53 / SOURCE:YICAI

China's Largest Grid-Connected Battery Station Powers Up​

(Yicai Global) Aug. 2 -- China's largest battery storage power station was successfully connected to the grid and went into operation recently in Zhenjiang in east China’s Jiangsu province, which will greatly improve the power supply capacity of the local power grid.

With 101 megawatts of power and 202-megawatt hour capacity, the station can provide a daily electricity supply of 400 MWh, which is able to feed the demands of 170,000 residents, stabilizing the grid load and obviating the need to build a new power plant, Economic Daily reported.

Built by State Grid Jiangsu Electric Power, the station will fill the supply gap during peak electricity times after local coal-fired power plants were shut down.

State Grid Jiangsu Electric Power is still providing energy storage devices for power users in Zhenjiang, and the total power is projected to be100 MW to stabilize the power supply of the local power grid.

Jiangsu Power Grid's highest dispatched power load reached 102 gigawatts last year, higher than that of Germany, South Korea, Australia and many other countries.

Zhenjiang is one of the major electricity consumers in the province, with industry making up 60 percent of its total gross domestic product and expanding 15 to 20 percent annually. It also among the fastest-growing economies in the Yangtze River Delta, per its official website.

 

[JSCh]

Second stage of Yamal LNG project to be launched next month
Source: Xinhua| 2018-07-19 20:21:57|Editor: Shi Yinglun


MOSCOW, July 19 (Xinhua) -- Russian gas producer Novatek said Thursday that it plans to launch the second production line of the Yamal liquefied natural gas (LNG) project in early August.

"The project will reach its full capacity early next year," Novatek CEO Leonid Mikhelson was quoted by TASS news agency as saying.

Located in Russia's Yamal Peninsula in the Arctic, the project is owned by Novatek (50.1 percent), France's Total (20 percent), China National Petroleum Corporation (20 percent) and China's Silk Road Fund (9.9 percent).

The project will consist of three production lines with each having a capacity of 5.5 million tons per year. The first production line started operation in December 2017 and the third one is expected to be commissioned in 2019.

Russia's share in the global LNG market will rise from 4 percent to above 8 percent by the completion of the Yamal project. As agreed, at least 4 million tones of LNG will be shipped to China every year.

Second phase of Russia-China Yamal LNG project enters operation
CGTN
2018-08-11 15:29 GMT+8

The Yamal liquefied natural gas (LNG) project, a joint venture between China and Russia, launched its second production line on Thursday, six months ahead of its initial schedule.

Novatek－Russia's largest independent natural gas producer－owns 50.1 percent of the project, while French energy giant Total accounts for 20 percent. China National Petroleum Corporation (CNPC) has a 20-percent stake, and China's Silk Road Fund owns 9.9 percent.

Novatek CEO Leonid Mikhelson was present at a launch ceremony at the company's plant in Sabetta on the Yamal Peninsula, in northwest Siberia.

"We are very satisfied with our partners and are carrying out concrete negotiations about the next project that will be joined by the CNPC. We welcome Chinese enterprises to join our projects, as we have become great cooperative partners, and I hope that such cooperation will continue," said Mikhelson.

Leonid Mikhelson, CEO of Novatek PJSC, attends a ceremony to mark the official opening of the second production line of the Yamal LNG plant in Sabetta, Russia, August 9, 2018./VCG Photo

The LNG project will consist of three production lines, each with a capacity of 5.5 million tons per year. The first production line entered operation in December 2017, and the third one is expected to be commissioned in 2019.

The first batch of 170,000 cubic meters of LNG from the Yamal project's second production line was later loaded onto a ship at the Port of Sabetta, bringing the project's total LNG shipments to over 3.5 million tons.

The Yamal LNG project is the first mega-energy cooperation project between China and Russia after China proposed the Belt and Road Initiative in 2013.

The initiative refers to the Silk Road Economic Belt and the 21st Century Maritime Silk Road, which aims at building a trade and infrastructure network connecting Asia with Europe and Africa along the ancient trade routes of the Silk Road.

The first batch of LNG bound for China from the Yamal project's first production line was delivered to east China's Jiangsu Province on July 19.

According to an industry report, China is likely to become the world's largest natural gas importer by 2019 in terms of domestic short supply, with imports expected to reach 171 billion cubic meters by 2023. The majority of those imports will consist of LNG.

Russia's share in the global LNG market will rise from four percent to more than eight percent by the time the Yamal project is complete. As agreed, at least 4,000,000 tons of LNG will be shipped to China every year.

 

[JSCh]

New platform to boost energy conservation technologies
By Liu Zhihua | China Daily | Updated: 2018-08-21 09:00

A worker checks molten steel at an iron and steel plant in Dalian, Northeast China's Liaoning province. [Photo by Liu DebinFor China Daily]

China is furthering its efforts to boost energy conservation and will soon set up a national platform for the promotion of advanced energy-saving technologies in steel and other sectors, sources familiar with the matter said.

"Advanced energy-saving technologies are important for the country's economic growth and can help safeguard national energy security," said Gui Hua, director of the technology promotion office of the National Energy Conservation Center.

The latest cutting-edge technologies from both home and abroad that offer high returns on investment and can reduce energy consumption in either industrial production or people's daily life will be the focus of promotion, Gui said on Friday at a forum on energy conservation in Yingtan city, Jiangxi province.

She said the center, an affiliate of the National Development and Reform Commission, is creating a national market-oriented energy saving technology promotion platform, in order to improve cooperation between enterprises in need of innovative energy conservation and environmental protection solutions, and enterprises providing such technologies.

The platform plans to offer authoritative information on technologies, experts, investors, government policies, and high-tech industrial parks related with energy-saving and low-carbon emission, and conduct real-time tracking of investors' preferential conditions and industrial parks' demand, so that it will become a channel where technology providers, investors and industrial parks can match demand and supply, Gui said, adding the platform is currently under pilot trials.

A total of 400 items for energy conservation and low carbon emission technologies at the national level have been identified, and at the provincial level, the number is over 1,000, she said.

Zhang Longqiang, vice-president of the China Metallurgical Industry Planning and Research Institute, said progress made in the steel industry has provided a solid basis for China to realize energy conservation and green development.

As one of China's top energy consuming sectors, the steel industry has been making breakthroughs in energy saving technologies, he said.

More importantly, steel companies now not only have technologies but also capital to adopt energy saving measures, he said.

That is because the overcapacity reduction campaign in recent years, especially the elimination of outdated and substandard steel production, has reduced steel supply, while market demand remains resilient, thereby improving profitability for steel firms, he explained.

The ongoing trade dispute between China and the United States has very limited influence on Chinese steel industry revenue, because China exports very little steel to the US, he added.

Li Jianlin, chairman of Jiangxi Sanchuan Energy Conservation Co, a leading energy saving solution provider in China, said the company has served more than 40 major Chinese steel companies, and helped in energy savings of about 100 million yuan ($14.5 million) every year.

 

[TaiShang]

China's largest battery storage power station was successfully connected to the grid and went into operation recently in Zhenjiang in east China’s Jiangsu province, which will greatly improve the power supply capacity of the local power grid.

That's great development really. Grid networking (including storage, transmission and distribution) often lacks CE generation, leading to waste and low return on investment.

China has made great strides in CE generation, now it is time to develop infrastructure (which falls on the government because private investors will not be able to shoulder the economic burden alone).

China needs a super-supergrid all across the nation and then connect it with the neighbouring countries.

Already has grid connections with CA, Mongolia and Russia. But I am hoping for grid connectivity with South Korea and Japan (underwater).

 

[JSCh]

China supports natural gas, ethanol to promote clean energy
Source: Xinhua| 2018-08-23 00:21:35|Editor: mmm


BEIJING, Aug. 22 (Xinhua) -- China Wednesday announced new policy support for clean energy with efforts to improve natural gas supplies and moderately promote the use of ethanol as a renewable biofuel.

An executive meeting of the State Council chaired by Premier Li Keqiang decided to establish and expand a diversified natural gas supply system that better coordinates energy sources from home and abroad, including improved storage and transfer infrastructure.

More measures will be rolled out to encourage investment in natural gas exploration and support the transfer of mining properties in a market-oriented manner, according to a document released after the meeting.

China also vowed stable natural supplies in heating seasons, in particular, to meet the demand from urban residents and pollution-haunted areas that count on the clean energy to replace dirty coal.

Ethanol fuel will also be developed in a measured way in part to consume excess grain stock. Another 15 regions including Beijing and Hebei will initiate pilots on ethanol gasoline this year, following earlier programs in 11 regions.

 

[JSCh]

Power tunnel under Yangtze River completed
chinadaily.com.cn | Updated: 2018-08-22 11:04

Chinese engineers and workers celebrate the compeletion of the underwater tunnel crossing the Yangtze River, Aug 21, 2018. [Photo/IC]

Chinese engineers have completed the world’s first tunnel specialized for ultra-high-voltage power transmission lines, designed to cross the Yangtze River in East China’s Jiangsu province.

The tunnel is a key section of the 1,000-kilovolt UHV power transmission project linking Huainan, Nanjing and Shanghai, which aims to help ease power shortages in the Yangtze River Delta region.

The tunnel is 5,468.5 meters long and 12.07 meters in diameter, crossing the Yangtze River from Nantong in the north to Suzhou in the south. The lowest point of the tunnel is 74.83 meters below the water level of Yangtze River.

A specially designed 140-meter shield tunneling machine started excavation work on June 28. The machine was modified to adapt to high water pressure and complex geological conditions on the riverbed.

A specially designed 140-meter shield tunneling machine excavates 14.12 meters a day on average, setting a new world record. [Photo/IC]

The machine excavated 14.12 meters per day, setting a new record compared to the average 11.6 meters of similar projects in China.

Experts investigated local conditions and realized building towers in the Yangtze River for overhead power lines would block shipping traffic in the river, and the foundations would need frequent maintenance.

All things considered, the tunnel was built so the power lines could be laid beneath the river, which has the advantages of lower construction and maintenance cost and avoids environmental destruction.

The transmission lines in the tunnel would be gas-insulated metal enclosed ones, bringing many benefits such as good transmission performance, outstanding safety, less space and lower maintenance cost compared to normal cable lines.

With an investment of 4.763 billion yuan ($696.8 million), the Suzhou-Nantong section is projected to be put into use in the next year.

 

[JSCh]

China Is Set to Lead in Industrializing Combustible Ice, Official Says
TANG SHIHUA
DATE: MON, 08/27/2018 - 17:34 / SOURCE:YICAI

China Is Set to Lead in Industrializing Combustible Ice, Official Says​

(Yicai Global) Aug. 27 -- China is expected to spearhead global industrial production of natural gas hydrates by constructing exploration and drilling test areas, a government official said Aug. 25.

Li Jinfa, deputy director of China Geological Survey under the Ministry of Land and Resources, made the statement at an energy forum held in Beijing on Aug. 25, state-backed news outlet The Paper reported.

The fuel is seen as a new energy source which many hope can replace coal and oil.

Natural gas hydrate is also called combustible ice, flammable ice, methane clathrate and methane hydrate. It is a substance formed of natural gas and water crystallizing under high pressure and at low temperatures. It generates almost no residue from combustion. It is mainly distributed in the deep sea and continental margins, data show.

The nation is carrying out feasibility studies for natural gas hydrate drilling and exploitation vessels to build a technology platform for the commercialization of combustible ice. It is expected to start construction next year and go into production in 2020, Li said.

The Geological Survey will intensify exploration of resources and carry out detailed investigation of test areas to exactly pinpoint resources, and on this basis, scientifically organize the implementation of pilot production to form a technical system for methane clathrate development, Li added.

The Geological Survey has identified several target areas in key areas such as the northern part of the South China Sea, and initially estimates that the country has about 80 billion tons of oil-equivalent offshore combustible ice resources. It has also initially detected the distribution of gas hydrate deposits in areas like the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, and has selected nine hydrate blocks in permafrost in the Qinghai-Tibet region, Li added.

The government has also begun conducting methane hydrate industrialization policy studies, including research and development of relevant mining rights management systems and regulatory measures, and industrialization support policies, Li continued.

China is one of the few countries in the world with both marine and terrestrial flammable ice reserves. "China has been in the world forefront of gas hydrate exploration and drilling thus far," Li said.

China announced the extraction in May last year of natural gas from a combustible ice deposit 203-277 meters below the seabed at a depth of 1,266 meters in the Shenhu area of the South China Sea. It had continuous and stable production for 60 days after the pilot production, with cumulative gas production of 309,000 cubic meters.

The energy density of natural gas hydrate is 10 times that of coal or carbonaceous shale, and twice that of conventional natural gas, with methane content as high as 99.5 percent. The amount of global combustible ice reserves is astronomical and estimated to be equivalent to twice the total energy of coal, oil and natural gas, Yicai Global earlier reported.

 

[JSCh]

China Leads in Geothermal Heat Capacity, but Power Generation Lags, Study Finds
CHEN JUAN & LIU JING
DATE: MON, 08/27/2018 - 18:06 / SOURCE:YICAI

China Leads in Geothermal Heat Capacity, but Power Generation Lags, Study Finds​

(Yicai Global) Aug. 27 -- China is gradually developing geothermal energy, and the country’s industrial system has taken initial shape, a new study shows. Installed capacity of China's geothermal heat pumps reached 20,000 megawatts by the end of last year to rank first in the world.

In addition to its primary uses in heating and aquaculture, a lesser portion also goes to generate power, with the nation's power capacity by the end of last year of 27.28 MW ranking it 18th in the world, according to the country’s first research report on geothermal energy development issued by the National Energy Administration, Chinese Academy of Sciences, and other agencies on Aug. 25.

Problems of insufficient and uncoordinated development still exist in China's geothermal energy industry, however, the report also noted.

National geothermal resource statistics are inaccurate, and a clear gap exists here compared with developed countries. Only 1,230 measured geothermal data are currently available in China, whereas that figure is 17,000 for the US.

 

[JSCh]

Qatargas agrees on 22-year LNG supply deal with China
Source:Reuters-Global Times Published: 2018/9/10 17:38:40

Qatargas said on Monday it had agreed on a 22-year deal with PetroChina International Co, a unit of PetroChina Co, to supply China with around 3.4 million tons of liquefied natural gas (LNG) annually, as the nation steps up efforts to combat air pollution.

The Qatari state-owned company will supply LNG from the Qatargas 2 project - a venture between Qatar Petroleum, Exxon Mobil Corp and Total - to receiving terminals across China, with the first cargo to be delivered this month.

The deal allows flexibility in delivering LNG to Chinese terminals including those in Dalian in Northeast China's Liaoning Province, East China's Jiangsu Province, Tangshan in North China's Hebei Province and Shenzhen in South China's Guangdong Province, using the Qatargas fleet of 70 conventional, Q-Flex and Q-Max vessels, the company said.

China requires LNG for its push to replace coal with cleaner burning natural gas, a way to reduce air pollution.

After the Chinese government started the program last year, China has overtaken South Korea as the world's second-biggest buyer of LNG.

China's LNG imports may surge 70 percent to 65 million tons by 2020, according to consultancy SIA Energy.

Last year, China imported a record 38.1 million tons, 46 percent more than the previous year.

Meanwhile, Qatar, the world's biggest LNG producer, is seeking buyers for a planned expansion of its output.