China Starts Construction of Southern Part of China-Russia East Gas Pipeline
Construction has started on the southern portion of the China-Russia East natural gas pipeline, which carries supplies from the Power of Siberia system in Russia, China Oil & Gas Piping Network Corp (PipeChina) in a statement on Tuesday.This portion starts at Yongqing in China's northern province of Hebei and ends at Shanghai in eastern China. The full China-Russia East system is a 5,111-km (3,176-mile) pipeline pumping natural gas from the Siberia region in Russia to China.Once launched in 2025…
Ship Collision; Iranian Tanker Burns; 32 Missing
A tanker carrying Iranian oil and run by the country's top oil shipping firm was ablaze and spewing cargo into the East China Sea on Sunday after colliding with a Chinese freight ship, leaving the tanker's 32 crew members missing, the Chinese government said.Thick clouds of dark smoke could be seen billowing out of the Sanchi tanker engulfing the vessel as rescue efforts were hampered by bad weather and fire on and around the ship, Mohammad Rastad, head of Iran's Ports and Maritime Organization…
China Sets Sights on Oil Benchmark
China has opened more than 6,000 trading accounts for its long-awaited crude futures contract - with three-quarters coming from individual traders - as it pushes ahead with plans to compete with global pricing benchmarks. China's oil majors and about 150 brokerages have also registered, but the strong interest by 'mom-and-pop' investors looks set to mark out China's crude futures from western counterparts, which are dominated by institutional investors. Shanghai International Energy Exchange (INE), which will run China's contract, says it is finalising technical issues.
China to Expand Coal Ban to Suburbs
China will expand its bans on coal burning to include suburban areas as well as city centres in efforts to tackle air pollution, the top energy agency said on Tuesday. Detailing its clean coal action plan 2015-2020, the National Energy Administration (NEA) said it would promote centralised heating and power supply by natural gas and renewables, replacing scattered heat and power engines fuelled by low quality coal. The world's biggest coal consumer will ban sale and burning of high-ash and high-sulphur coal in the worst affected regions including city clusters surrounding Beijing.
China Power Plants Exempt from ban on Low-Quality Coal
China's bid to limit the consumption of low-quality thermal coal in major cities to help curb pollution will not apply to power plants, traders and utility sources said, exempting a sector responsible for half the country's coal use. China said on Monday that from 2015 it would restrict the production, consumption and import of coal with high impurity levels in a bid to fight smog, much of which is caused by using coal for heating and electricity. The government set three new quality thresholds…
Impact of China Coal Restrictions Questioned
Who to believe? The traders and analysts who say China's new regulations on coal quality is a body blow to Australian exports, or the companies and their association who say the impact will be insignificant. In this case, it seems far more likely that the impact will be minimal, but not non-existent, as the new rules will lead to changes in the composition of coal China imports. A far bigger impact may come from the curbs on transporting low-quality domestic coal, which may actually boost imports.
Coal Prices Drop in Reaction to China Import Ban
Thermal coal prices fell on Tuesday in reaction to a Chinese ban on the import and local sale of heavy-polluting coal types from January next year. European coal cargoes for delivery in October to Amsterdam, Rotterdam and Antwerp (ARA) traded at $73.95 a tonne at 1427 GMT on the GLOBALcoal platform, down $1.55 from the previous settlement, while December cargoes inched down 25 cents to $74.85 per tonne. Australian cargoes for delivery in October from the port of Newcastle, an Asian benchmark, edged down by 20 cents to $66.00 a tonne, while December cargoes were 15 cents lower at $66.10.
China to Ban Imports of High Ash, High Sulphur Coal
China will restrict imports and the sale of coal with high ash and high sulphur content starting from January 2015 in a bid to tackle air pollution, the National Development and Reform Commission said on Monday. Coal with ash and sulphur content exceeding 40 percent and 3 percent respectively will not be allowed to be transported for more than 600 kilometres from their production sites or receiving terminals. Coastal cities in the Yangtze River Delta, the Pearl River as well as Beijing…
China's State Grid Open to "Non-state" Investment-Media
The State Grid Corp of China , the country's dominant power grid operator, will open two of its business sectors to new investors, including private and non-state companies, state media said on Tuesday. The two sectors, which cover distributed power grids and electric vehicle charging equipment, have an estimated market value of 200 billion yuan ($32 billion), the official news agency Xinhua quoted State Grid representative Wang Yanfang as saying. Successful investors will help State Grid build new electric vehicle charging stations in Beijing…
