China signs $50 billion U.S. dollars in oil projects this month

Thanks for such a comprehensive thread! Keep it up!

By the way, if you feel comfortable doing so, can you talk a little about why you have a personal interest in energy developments in China? Is it related to your line of work?

mr.unknown said:

Thanks for such a comprehensive thread! Keep it up!

By the way, if you feel comfortable doing so, can you talk a little about why you have a personal interest in energy developments in China? Is it related to your line of work?

Click to expand...

Thank you for the compliment. You are too generous. I am merely a China-watcher.

I find the country to be dynamic and interesting. I divide my posts between China's economy, science and technology, oil-related issues and industrial power (e.g. clean energy technology is beneficial for everyone), beloved Taiwan, and the occasional military discussion (e.g. China's ASBM or anti-ship ballistic missile).

Regarding the issue of personal interest, I don't have any. I am posting because I enjoy this hobby (among others such as chess). However, due to scholastic demands, I may have to curtail the time that I spend online in the near-future.

Regarding my personal situation, I have a 3.99 college GPA. I can probably attend medical school if I desired. However, due to complicated personal reasons, I will most likely choose another profession in the health care field.

Once again, thank you for the feedback. It's nice to know that fellow armchair generals enjoy my posts.

China works to double Strategic Petroleum Reserve capacity by 2013


Bird's-eye view of a China Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR) storage site


A vigilant guard at a China SPR site



"China works to double SPR capacity by 2013
Oct 4, 2010
By Liutong Zhang and Kang Wu

China is moving quickly on construction of its Phase II strategic petroleum reserve and FACTS Global Energy believes most SPR Phase II sites will come on stream by 2012-13, doubling China's SPR capacity. China will also expand commercial crude storage capacity by about 18 million cu m (about 113 million bbl) by end 2012."



"China to bolster oil reserves
By Sun Xiaohua (China Daily)
Updated: 2009-03-02 07:54


China is accelerating the build-up of its oil reserves to avoid the economic dislocations the country suffered in 2008 from fluctuations in the world oil price.

China's National Energy Administration (NEA) recently released a plan to build nine large refining bases in coastal areas over the next three years, sources with the China Petroleum and Chemical Industry Association said last week.

The plan involves building three 30-million-ton refinery bases in three cities (Shanghai, Ningbo and Nanjing) in China's economically dynamic Yangtze Delta and six 20-million-ton bases in other coastal areas from Tianjin in the north to Guangzhou in the south. It will also facilitate major joint-venture refinery projects between Chinese companies and partners from oil-producing countries such as Venezuela, Qatar and Russia.

The refinery scheme is part of China's plan to bolster its oil inventories. The NEA announced at a national energy conference in early February that China will, in addition to the current four strategic petroleum reserve (SPR) bases, build eight new ones by 2011. The program will increase China's strategic crude reserve capacity to 44.6 million cu m, or 281 million barrels.

The country will also increase its refined oil reserve to 10 million tons by 2011, a source familiar with the stockpile plan told China Daily in February.

"China's attentiveness to its oil reserve capacity has grown in tandem with its rising dependence on imported oil," said Pan Jiahua, an expert with the Chinese petroleum society.


This undated file photo shows an oil reserve base in eastern China's Zhejiang province. [Asianewsphoto]

China, the world's second largest oil consumer, relies on imports for about half of its oil needs. It imported 178.9 million tons of crude oil in 2008, up 9.6 percent from the previous year, according to the National Development and Reform Commission.

The country's lack of strategic oil reserve became a pressing concern during the steep oil price surge from 2004-07, when the Chinese government and state energy companies were left at a disadvantage compared to other major oil-consuming countries. China's national oil inventory reportedly covered only 21 days of its economy's need. Reserves in other countries, such as Japan and the United States, were enough for 100 days.

"China's construction of SPR started pretty late. The country's rising reliance on imported oil and the sharp fluctuation in world market made it a strategic issue," said Pan.


NEA's chief Zhang Guobao said in February that China still "badly needs" energy. His administration plans to ensure a 200-millon-ton domestic annual oil output from 2009-11 but the trend of growing dependence on imported oil will remain. China is expected to import 60 percent of its oil in 2020.

Taking advantage

"The country should take advantage of falling global energy prices to increase its oil reserves," Zhang wrote in a signed article in the official People's Daily in January.

Where China's new eight SPR tanks will be built so far remains unannounced, although there has been a lot of guesswork. All four existing SPR bases are in coastal areas but Pan said some of the new ones will likely be built in the hinterland.

The government's decision to increase oil inventory seems well-received across China. A recent web survey by People's Daily of 2,569 participants, showed 98 percent of them agree China should buy more oil now at a relatively low price. Surveys by other major Chinese portals showed similar results.

But China cannot simply take advantage of attractive prices and store as much oil as it wants because its current reserve capacity is not commensurate with its energy appetite.

Customs statistics shows China's crude imports in January even fell 7.99 percent year-on-year. A slowing economy bears most of the blame but analysts said the country's limited capacity also played a role.

Zhao Youshan, head of the petroleum distribution committee of the China General Chamber of Commerce, an industry group, recently submitted a proposal to oil-related government agencies, calling for using tanks controlled by private companies to store more cheap oil.

Zhou said in his proposal that China's more than 600 private oil companies have 230 million tons worth of storage tanks, almost ten times the capacity of the eight new SPR tanks combined.

China has massive private oil storage facilities, built up by oil companies since China opened its oil markets to private operators in the mid-1990s. But State companies, mainly China National Petroleum Corp (CNPC) and China PetroChemical Corp (Sinopec), basically control oil-importing licenses and hundreds of private oil distributors and refiners are currently sitting on empty tanks.

Zhou said in his report that the industry slump last year has left many private oil companies broke and that some of the survivors are struggling with the high maintenance cost of empty tanks.

Using idle private tanks for national oil reserves could be a win-win situation; the country can cheaply increase storage capacity and private companies can use the extra business to pull through the recession, according to Guan Qingyou, an energy expert at Tsinghua University.

But some analysts said the involvement of private companies in SPR is not likely soon, as the government needs to make sure this is done the right way.

"If import licenses are issued to private companies and there is no proper management, that could lead to speculation and oil market disorder and even threaten national security," said Tong Lixia, a Ministry of Commerce researcher.

'So the government has to weigh the pros and cons very carefully.'"

China and Mongolia plan to jointly build new highway for coal transportation


"It's no coincidence that the Asian giant is the world's largest coal user. The world's fastest-growing economy is also the world's fastest-growing coal market, accomplishing what no other nation has by navigating industrialization, urbanization and modernization all at once.

China uses coal to fuel approximately 80 percent of its electricity for basic needs and for providing the steel that creates the foundation for its fast-growing cities. It is expected to use more electricity than the entire Western Hemisphere in as little as the next two decades as hundreds of millions of citizens transition from rural to urban lifestyles.

More steel is going into the ground in China than anywhere else in the world: In fact, China consumed enough iron and steel last year to rebuild the entire U.S. commercial air fleet. Perhaps that's why China accounts for more than 60 percent of the global metallurgical coal market, most of which is used domestically for steel production."


"Photo of a coal mine in Mongolia: Flickr/Wolfiewolf"


Highway to Datong China, near Mongolian border



"China and Mongolia plan to jointly build new highway for coal transportation
English.news.cn 2010-10-05 15:12:46

HOHHOT, Oct. 5 (Xinhua) -- A new highway linking China and Mongolia is expected to be jointly built by the two countries with a total investment of 2.51 billion yuan (around 375 million U.S. dollars), local authorities said Tuesday.

The new highway is planned to be 245 kilometers in length and will run from Mongolia's southwest Omnogovi Aymag Province to Ganqimaodu, a border town in China's Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, said a regional government official.

Two firms from China and Mongolia plan to set up a joint venture, which will be the main builder of the highway. The Mongolia firm will own 51 percent of the joint venture while the China firm the remaining 49 percent.

Construction of the highway is scheduled to be completed in two years.

The project plan had been submitted to the authorities of the two countries respectively, the official said.

The new highway was expected to improve coal transportation between the two countries, as well as promote economic development in China and Mongolia, the official said.

Trade between China's Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region and Mongolia reached 5.33 billion U.S. dollars and jumped 33.5 percent year on year over the first eight months of this year. As of Sept. 22, around 5.24 million tonnes of coal had been transported to China via Ganqimaodu."

World energy map is constantly changing


"Air-cooled heat exchangers are intensively used by LNG plants."



"World energy map is constantly changing
By Andrew Cave
Published: 1:33PM BST 20 Sep 2010

New discoveries of energy sources and evolving technology mean that producers are frequently jostling for position.


The map of gas and oil supply is constantly changing. Photo: Peter Grundy

The global energy map is constantly changing.

Take oil, for example. Despite the discovery of large oil reserves in Alaska, the North Sea, Canada, the Gulf of Mexico and the opening up of Russia, the 12 Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) nations – Algeria, Angola, Ecuador, Iran, Iraq, Kuwait, Libya, Nigeria, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Venezuela – still account for two-thirds of the world’s oil reserves.

However, they now account for only about one third of the world’s oil production, ahead of the 32 members of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, who produce 24 per cent, and the Post-Soviet states, with 15 per cent.

According to the CIA Fact Book, the top five oil-producing countries in 2009 were Russia, Saudi Arabia, the US, China and Iran, while the top oil exporters were Saudi Arabia, Russia, Iran, the United Arab Emirates and Nigeria. Britain is ranked 14th among exporters.

The picture is also complicated by unconventional energy sources. For example, the world’s largest deposits of oil sands occur in Canada and Venezuela, each of which has oil sand reserves approximately equal to the world’s total reserves of conventional crude oil.

A report in May by the IHS Cambridge Energy Research Associates predicted that Canadian oil sands will be the top source of crude imports to the US this year.

The list of top gas suppliers reads differently. According to the website EconomyWatch, the top five producers are Russia, Iran, Qatar, the US and Saudi Arabia, with the world’s largest reserves sited in the West Siberian basin.

Russia is the world’s largest pipeline gas exporter, supplying one-third of the European Union’s consumption, but it is now facing competition from shale gas, the largest reserves of which are found in the US.

A Massachusetts Institute of Technology study has predicted that natural gas will provide 40 per cent of America’s energy needs in the future, up from 20 per cent today, thanks in part to the abundant supply of shale gas.

In addition, liquefied natural gas (LNG) has been transformed from a regionally traded fuel to a globally traded energy source over the past few years amid technological developments, cheaper transportation costs and increasing demand for gas from power and transport companies and households.

Industry forecaster The Bharat Book expects the number of countries taking part in LNG trade to increase from 22 to 57 between 2000 and 2015 as global LNG export capacity grows by 74 per cent.

Some 18 countries, headed by Qatar, Indonesia, Malaysia and Nigeria, export LNG, while Angola, Canada, Iran, Papua New Guinea, Peru and Venezuela, are currently planning to begin exports by 2015.

Australia, with eight planned export terminals, is expected to emerge as the world’s largest LNG exporter in 2015. Currently, 345 LNG tankers sail across the world, but this is expected to reach 400 by 2013.

Australia is also the world’s top exporter of coal, ahead of Indonesia, Russia, the US and Colombia.

However, China is the biggest coal producer, while the US is estimated to have the greatest proven recoverable coal reserves."

Qatargas delivers first LNG cargo to China


Global Annual LNG production



"QATARGAS DELIVERS FIRST LNG CARGO TO CHINA


First Qatari LNG shipment on Oct. 9, 2009 to China

Shenzhen, CHINA, 19 October 2009: Today Qatargas delivered its first Q-flex LNG cargo to the People’s Republic of China under sales and purchase agreements that had been signed with the China National Offshore Oil Corporation (CNOOC). The deliveries to CNOOC under these agreements will be expected to continue for up to 25 years.

Mr. Faisal M. Al Suwaidi, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Qatargas, said: “This is truly an exciting development for Qatargas as we start to deliver LNG under our agreement. China represents a new market for Qatari LNG and we are proud to be able to deliver this first cargo safely and on time. Qatargas is very pleased to be playing an increasing role in providing stable energy supplies to China which has just celebrated its 60th Anniversary.”

“LNG has a key role to play in helping governments around the world improve the diversity of their energy supplies. We are pleased with this development which will help to meet the growing demand for energy in China.”

The cargo is being delivered at the Guangdong Dapeng LNG receiving terminal near the major Chinese industrial city of Shenzhen, utilizing the Q-Flex ship “Al Ghariya” which departed Ras Laffan Port on October 5th. Al-Ghariya is part of Qatargas’ integrated shipping fleet which consists of the world’s largest state-of-the-art LNG vessels.

A formal unloading ceremony was held at the Guangdong Dapeng terminal to celebrate the arrival of the first cargo – it was attended by representatives from both Qatargas and CNOOC. This is the second cargo of LNG to be delivered to the People’s Republic of China from the State of Qatar – Qatargas delivered its first spot cargo on a conventional sized vessel in September.

Qatargas executed a long term LNG sales & purchase agreement in 2008 with CNOOC to supply two million tones per annum (mtpa) of LNG to the People’s Republic of China for a 25 year time period. This LNG will be supplied from Train 6 of Qatargas 3 joint venture between Qatar Petroleum, ConocoPhillips and Mitsui. Train 6 is anticipated to start producing LNG in 2010. Until this time LNG will be supplied from the Qatargas 2 Companywhose shareholders are Qatar Petroleum, ExxonMobil and Total.

Qatargas and CNOOC have been working together diligently since the execution of the agreement in order to finalize all of the ancillary requirements to commence first deliveries of LNG from Qatar to the People’s Republic of China using Q-Flex vessels.

The State of Qatar is now the world’s largest LNG producer and anticipates that China will become one of the world’s largest gas markets. Qatargas currently has executed long-term contracts to supply a total of five mtpa of LNG to the People’s Republic of China."



"QATARGAS TO INCREASE LNG SUPPLIES TO CNOOC


Signing of MoU between China's CNOOC and Qatargas on Nov. 9, 2009 in Beijing

Beijing, China, 13 November 2009: Qatargas Operating Company Ltd. (Qatargas) signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with China National Offshore Oil Company (CNOOC) for additional long-term supplies of LNG to the People’s Republic of China.

His Excellency Abdullah Bin Hamad Al-Attiyah, Deputy Prime Minister of The State of Qatar and the Minister of Energy and Industry who was in Beijing to attend the opening of Qatargas’ Representative Office in the People’s Republic of China witnessed the signing of the MOU by Mr. Fu Chengyu, President of CNOOC, and Mr. Faisal M. Al Suwaidi, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Qatargas.

Under the terms of the MOU, Qatargas intends to supply an additional three million tonnes of LNG per annum to CNOOC commencing in 2013. In addition to this base volume, Qatargas and CNOOC will contemplate the sale and purchase of an additional two million tonnes per annum of LNG.

These volumes combined with an existing long-term supply commitment of two million tonnes of LNG agreed under a Sales and Purchase Agreement signed in 2008 will potentially take the total volume of the Qatari LNG to be supplied to CNOOC to seven million tonnes per annum. As noted by His Excellency Abdullah Bin Hamad Al-Attiyah “China is the centre today of the new LNG compass”.

Mr. Faisal M. Al Suwaidi, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Qatargas, said: “I am extremely excited that we are able to announce the strengthening of our relationship with CNOOC on the same day we have celebrated the opening of our Representative Office in the People’s Republic of China.”

“Only last month we celebrated the arrival of Qatari LNG to China with CNOOC at an unloading ceremony held at the Dapeng Terminal, Guangdong Province. This event marked the first time that one of Qatargas’
state-of-the-art Q-Flex LNG carriers delivered LNG to China and represented the beginning of long-term stable LNG supplies from the State of Qatar to the People’s Republic of China.

Mr. Fu Chengyu, President of CNOOC said, it’s another milestone in the expanding partnership between CNOOC and Qatargas, which will substantially help bring closer energy cooperation between the two countries. We are happy that CNOOC and Qatargas have built up mutual understanding and trust and we are confident to import more clean energy to fuel economic growth and improve environment in China.”

The State of Qatar is now the world’s largest LNG producer and anticipates that China will become one of the world’s largest gas markets."



"Qatar to idle 66% of LNG capacity
News wires 10 June 2010 06:51 GMT

Qatar, the world’s largest producer of liquefied natural gas, will idle 66% of its export plants this year; reversing earlier plans and joining Russia in curtailing supply amid a global glut.


Go slow: Qatar is poised to idle 66% of its export capacity

Bloomberg cited a report from New York-based consultant Poten & Partners as saying Qatar’s two LNG projects, Ras Laffan and Qatar LNG, had an “unusually heavy” maintenance program during the past two months that shut six of 12 production units for several weeks. Another two units will undergo repairs this summer.

Qatar has changed its approach from a January comment by Faisal Suwadi, then chief executive officer of QatarGas, that his company probably would not idle any LNG units for maintenance this year.

Russian gas giant Gazprom, which supplies about a quarter of Europe’s gas, cut its 2010 production goal yesterday because of reduced demand.

Gazprom said it aims to produce 519.3 billion cubic metres of gas this year, scaling back an earlier forecast of 529 Bcm.

“Gazprom is now revising down figures because of a lack of demand,” head of the gas, condensate and oil production department Vsevolod Cherepanov, told reporters in Moscow.

Qatar’s decision to shut units even as it increases overall capacity underscores the challenge LNG producers face in balancing abundant supplies with long-term expectations of demand growth.

“There have been more shutdowns globally than we have seen in the past, and LNG units are being shut,” Andrew Pearson, an analyst at Edinburgh-based consultant Wood Mackenzie told Bloomberg.

“Suppliers are trying to support the market on one hand, but on the other hand, holding the gas back for future months and years when the price is more attractive.”

US gas futures slumped 31% during the first three months of the year, fluctuated near $4 per million British thermal units during April, then rose 19% since 24 May, to close at $4.677 yesterday on the New York Mercantile Exchange.

Gas for delivery in July 2011 was $5.384 per million Btu, a premium of 15% over the front-month contract. At the start of the year, the premium for July 2011 over gas for July this year stood at 6.6%.

Gas prices have fallen during the past year as more nations boost exports and the US, the world’s biggest consumer, increases domestic production from shale-gas deposits.

Prices are less than a third of the record $15.78 reached in December 2005, when cold weather drained inventories already depleted by earlier hurricane damage in the Gulf of Mexico.

Members of the Gas Exporting Countries Forum, which includes Russia, Iran and Qatar, failed to agree in April on an Algerian proposal to buttress prices by reducing spot sales. Qatari Minister of State for Energy Mohammed Sada said in March that his country did not plan to reduce output to support prices.

Published: 10 June 2010 06:51 GMT | Last updated: 10 June 2010 06:51 GMT"

CNOOC Signs $1 Billion LNG Contract With G-D-F Suez


G-D-F Suez's Chairman and CEO Gerard Mestrallet (right) and Wang Jiaxiang (left), president of CNOOC Gas and Power Group, sign the documents of the agreement during their agreement signing ceremony Saturday, Oct. 9, 2010. Chinese offshore oil and gas company CNOOC agreed Saturday to buy 2.6 million tons of liquefied natural gas from French utility G-D-F Suez SA. (AP Photo/Eugene Hoshiko)


LNG tanker at night



"Cnooc Signs $1 Billion LNG Contract With G-D-F Suez
OCTOBER 10, 2010, 3:26 A.M. ET

SHANGHAI—French power group *** Suez will supply China National Offshore Oil Corp. with 2.6 million tons of liquefied natural gas over four years, in a deal valued at more than $1 billion, executives from the two companies said Saturday.

*** Suez Chairman and Chief Executive Gerard Mestrallet, speaking in Shanghai at a signing ceremony for the agreement, said LNG deliveries to Cnooc would start in 2013.

Cnooc Assistant President Wang Jiaxiang said the price would be linked with crude oil prices at the delivery time, and that it was Cnooc's first medium-term LNG agreement.

Despite having secured around 16 million tons of annual LNG supplies, Cnooc is seeking strategic partners for more LNG supplies, Mr. Wang added. Cnooc has three operational LNG terminals and is planning to build several more.

Mestrallet said *** Suez is also interested in making joint investments with Chinese companies in overseas markets.

*** Suez Executive Vice President Jean-Marie Dauger said the Asia-Pacific region is a key growth area for the company's LNG business due to its robust demand, and that the company is also in talks with Pakistan regarding LNG supplies.

The agreement with Cnooc, China's largest offshore-oil and gas company, follows two other LNG supply deals made recently by the French company.

On Sept. 27, *** Suez agreed a medium-term contract, valued at about $1 billion, with Korea's state-owned utility Korea Gas Corp., or Kogas, to supply 2.5 million metric tons of LNG. Kogas will import about one cargo a month starting this month through March 2014.

*** Suez last month also signed a deal with Russia's natural-gas giant OAO Gazprom to supply it with 15 cargoes of LNG over a two-and-a-half year period starting from early 2011.

The China deal is the latest in a string of agreements China has signed with gas suppliers in line with efforts to become less dependent on coal.

China's LNG demand will surge to 46 million tons a year in 2020 from last year's total imports of 5.5 million tons, as its gas demand is forecast to rise from 93 billion cubic meters in 2009 to 444 billion cubic meters in 2030, according to industry consultancy Wood Mackenzie.

*** Suez owns a fleet of 18 LNG carriers with a significant presence in regasification terminals in North and South America, in Europe, as well as in India, according to the company.

—Jing Yang"

Venezuela approves Chinese role in Orinoco oil block







"Venezuela approves Chinese role in Orinoco oil block
Mon Oct 11, 2010 12:20pm EDT

* Aims to produce 400,000 bpd from Junin block 4

* Deal is for 25 years, can be extended another 15

By Marianna Parraga

CARACAS, Oct 11 (Reuters) - Venezuela has formally approved China's involvement in a joint venture to tap 400,000 barrels per day (bpd) of oil from Junin block 4 in the South American OPEC member's vast Orinoco extra heavy crude belt.

President Hugo Chavez's government signed a raft of deals with foreign companies this year to set up several Orinoco projects that are slated to add 2.1 million bpd of new production and bring Venezuela some $80 billion in investment.

Its state oil company PDVSA holds a 60 percent stake in each project. China National Petroleum Corp has a 40 percent interest in Junin block 4, where production is expected to start at 50,000 bpd in 2012 and reach its maximum by 2016, when a new upgrader in the area is due to begin work. Factbox: [ID:nN11204108]

"The joint venture will produce up to 400,000 bpd of extra heavy crude ... for a period of 25 years from the start of operations," said an agreement between PDVSA and CNPC published on Monday in the Venezuelan government's Official Gazette.

It said CNPC would pay a $900 million bonus fee in eight tranches, the first to be delivered once Venezuela has given the joint venture the legal right to exploit the area. It was not immediately clear when that would happen.

The deal can be extended for a further 15 years if both parties meet the agreed investment plan, the Gazette notice said, and there is a tax relief provision if those investments fail to be recouped from production in seven years.

China's rapidly growing economy is hungry for access to energy resources around the world, and diplomatic ties between Caracas and Beijing have expanded quickly in recent years. That includes increasing cooperation outside the oil sector.

Last month, Venezuela said a Chinese firm would refurbish the country's main port. China also built and launched a $400 million communications satellite for Venezuela in 2008, reducing its dependence on U.S. and European satellites.

In addition, the Chavez government has bought Chinese radar equipment to monitor its borders, and Beijing provided it with military training jets after Washington imposed an embargo in 2006 on sales of U.S. weapons parts to Venezuela.

Other companies with interests in Venezuela's Orinoco belt include Chevron (CVX.N) of the United States, Italy's Eni (ENI.MI), Spain's Repsol (REP.MC) and a Russian consortium of Rosneft (ROSN.MM), Gazprom (GAZP.MM), Lukoil (LKOH.MM), TNK-BP (TNBPI.RTS) and Surgutneftegaz (SNGS.MM).

(Writing by Daniel Wallis; Editing by Dale Hudson)"

China oil, gas, and petrochemicals -- Oct. 18


City of Hohhot is located in the province of Inner Mongolia, China.



Jin Hui hotel in Hohhot, China



"Top stories of the day: China oil, gas and petrochemicals -- Oct. 18
Sunday, October 17, 2010 11:37 PM

BEIJING, Oct. 18, 2010 (Xinhua News Agency) -- The following are top stories in China's oil, gas and petrochemical sector on Monday:

1. The Chinese capital Beijing is to buy 4 billion cubic meters of natural gas annually from a coal-to-gas project located in Hohhot of China's northern Inner Mongolia, Beijing Business News reported on Monday.

Beijing Enterprises Group Co., Ltd., a Beijing-based industrial company, has inked an agreement with Hohhot city government during the weekend to jointly invest some 30 billion yuan on the coal-to-gas project. The project will become the second largest natural gas supply source for Beijing and the first time the capital city uses the gas made from coal.

2. Dina-2 gasfield, the largest gas producing unit of PetroChina's flagship Tarim oilfield, has raised its daily natural gas output from 8 million cubic meters to 9.4 million cubic meters since the beginning of October 2010 in a bid to ensure gas supply during the winter peak season.

PetroChina (PTR.NYSE; 601857.SH; 0857.HK), China's largest oil and gas producer, said in a statement available on its website on Monday that the gasfield will further increase its daily natural gas output to over 12 million cubic meters later in 2010, making the gas producing unit's total annual production rise to 4 billion cubic meters in the year.

3. Sulige gasfield, China's largest gas producing unit, has produced 8.021 billion cubic meters of natural gas by Oct. 15, 2010, as the PetroChina's major gas producing unit has started full swing production to meet increasing gas demands over the coming winter.

According to a statement posted in the website of PetroChina, the gasfield has put 2,676 gas wells into operation with a total daily gas output of 31 million cubic meters.

4. China National Petroleum Corporation (CNPC), the parent company of PetroChina, has discovered a significant gasfield in Central Asia's Turkmenistan with an estimated gas reserve of 1.6 trillion cubic meters, according to Asia Times reports reaching here on Monday.

The report, which did not name the source, said that the discovery is made in Amu Darya River of Turkmenistan.

(Edited by Qiu Jun, [email protected])
(Source: Quotemedia)"


Map of China's oil and gas fields



Workers of the No. one oil extracting unit of the Changqing oilfield inspect oil tanks in Yan'an, northwest China's Shaanxi province on Dec. 16, 2007. (Xinhua/Tao Ming)



"PetroChina Sulige gasfield produces 8.02 bln cu.m of gas since operation
Monday, October 18, 2010 3:40 AM

BEIJING, Oct. 18, 2010 (Xinhua News Agency) -- China's largest gas production site, the Sulige gasfield in PetroChina's Changqing oilfield, has produced 8.021 billion cubic meters of natural gas as of October 15, 2010. The gasfield started full-swing production to meet increasing gas demands over the coming winter.

According to a statement posted in the website of PetroChina (PTR.NYSE; 601857.SH; 00857.HK), the Sulige gasfield has put 2,676 gas wells into operation since the beginning of 2010 with a total daily gas output of 31 million cubic meters, up 43 percent over the same period in 2009.

Changqing oilfield is the major natural gas supply source for Beijing, the capital city of China. PetroChina has already built two Shaanxi-to-Beijing natural gas pipelines connecting the gas producing field and the gas consumers in Beijing with a total annual capacity of 20 billion cubic meters.

The third Shaanxi-to-Beijing natural gas pipeline is to enter into operation in the fourth quarter in 2010 with additional annual gas supply capacity of 15 billion cubic meters.

(Edited by Qiu Jun, [email protected])
(Source: Quotemedia)"


PetroChina is either the second- or third-largest company in the world by market value.



"Apple Briefly Became Second Most Valuable Company
September 23, 2010, 4:57 PM EDT
By Adam Satariano

(Updates valuations starting in second paragraph.)

Sept. 23 (Bloomberg) -- Apple Inc. briefly overtook PetroChina Co. to become the second-biggest company in the world by market value, lifted by investors betting on growth prospects for the iPhone, Macintosh and iPad.

Apple climbed as high as $292.76 in intraday trading on the Nasdaq Stock Market, giving it a market value of $267.5 billion, the second-highest company behind Exxon Mobil Corp. By 4 p.m. New York time, Apple slipped to $288.92, putting the company’s value at $263.9 billion, less than PetroChina’s $265.5 billion valuation."

PetroChina Completes Dalian LNG Wharf




"Dalian, one of China's most vibrant and modern cities, is located on the eastern bank of the Eurasian Continent and on the southernmost part of the Liaodong Peninsula in Liaoning Province in northeastern China.

With the ideal and superb geographical location of being surrounded by the Yellow Sea to the east and the Bohai Sea to the west, Dalian is an important hub of communications in Northern China and an important international shipping center in the northeast of Asia."



"PetroChina Completes Dalian LNG Wharf
Posted on Sept. 2, 2010
LNG World News



PetroChina Co Ltd has completed construction of its first liquefied natural gas (LNG) wharf in the northern city of Dalian, the China Petroleum Daily reported on Thursday.

The 446-metre wharf, which includes a 150-metre trestle bridge, could dock the largest LNG carrier in the world, the company newspaper said.

The Dalian LNG project, comprising a wharf, receiving terminal and gas pipelines, is scheduled to be operational in April 2011.

PetroChina is expected to sell its 75 percent stake in the project to Kunlun Energy, a company controlled by PetroChina, and is diversifying its business into LNG supply, vehicle fuel gas and city gas from oil exploration.

Source: CNBC, September 2, 2010"