China NEWS

The International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA), and the State Grid Corporation of China (SGCC), have today signed a new Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) that will see the two organisations work closely to support grid enhancements, system flexibility and sector-coupling in China and IRENA’s Clean Energy Corridor regions. The agreement aims to advance the global energy transformation towards a net zero energy future particularly in developing countries.

BEIJING: China Petroleum & Chemical Corp, better known as Sinopec, plans a 23.8% increase in capital spending to 167.2 billion yuan in 2021 following recovery of oil prices and energy demand as the COVID-19 epidemic subsided.Sinopec expects to spend 66.8 billion yuan on upstream exploration focusing on shale gas development in southwest China

China's goal to become carbon neutral in 2060 will require $6.4 trillion of investment in new power generating capacity, leading to a tectonic shift in manufacturing and commodity imports while boosting its energy security, consultancy Wood Mackenzie said on Thursday. China has been grappling with rising oil and gas import dependency while facing increasing geo-political tensions that threaten its energy security.

The global offshore wind industry installed 6.07 GW of new capacity in 2020, with China in the lead with over 3 GW, the latest figures by GWEC Market Intelligence. The newly installed capacity was close to the record level of 6.1 GW reached in 2019, in spite of the pandemic. The world's total offshore wind capacity now stands at 35,196 GW.

India and china lead the recovery in Liquified Natural Gas(LNG) following the outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic, according to Royal Dutch Shell’s annual LNG Outlook published today.The company's are expecting that the demand for LNG is only going to increase henceforth as world over, economies are switching to carbon neutrality in the next few years.China's announcement of a target to become carbon neutral by 2060 so it's expected to continue driving up the LNG demand

Oil extended gains after closing at the highest level in more than a year as declines in U.S. and Chinese crude stockpiles added impetus to a rally driven by tightening global supplies. Futures in New York climbed to trade above $55 a barrel. The American Petroleum Institute reported crude inventories fell by 4.3 million barrels last week.

China has launched 1,100 km section of China-Russia East gas pipeline. Operations have already started in the middle portion of the pipeline. This will facilitate smog-prone Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region in northern China with the natural gas from the Power of Siberia system. The line is expected to be complete by 2025 and could transport 38 bcm per annum of gas.

China to get its largest hydrogen plant by the year 2022. The plant will be set by Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. world's largest hydrogen producer. The estimated capacity for the plant will be 30 tonnes of liquid hydrogen per day. The total investment for the plant is of $1 billion including other setups in the pipeline. It is an initiative by the Chinese government to steer the country towards “carbon neutrality” by 2060.

Earlier this month Philippines President lifted the 6-year ban for advancing oil exploration with China in the South China Sea. The moratorium was ended to exercise the Philippines exclusive right in the area and also to have actual projects talks with the Chinese entities. The moratorium was the part of the South China Sea arbitration case which was ruled in the favor of the Phillippines in 2016.

The week started with a decline in the oil prices after the reports of lower than expected third-quarter economic growth of China. Brent slipped by 0.4%, to $42.78 a barrel. WTI went down and was traded at $40.70 a barrel. The world's second-largest economy just witnessed a minimal swell of 4.9% in its third quarter. According to the reports, Chinese data on crude processing and industrial metals output is disappointing.

China’s Sinopec Corp has awarded a 10 year tender to buy 1 million tonnes of liquefied natural gas per year from Qatargas. The tender was issued in the month of July, and the supply starts in 2023. Despite the global supply and the COVID -19 pandemic, Qatar’s exports were slightly higher this year as compared with the same period last year.

Chinese state-run Sinopec on Sunday posted its first half-year net loss on record amid weak fuel demand due to the global pandemic. It made a net loss of 21.725 billion yuan ($3.17 billion) for the first six months of 2020, compared to a 32.206 billion yuan profit a year earlier. First-half revenue fell 31% from a year earlier to 1.03 trillion yuan.

Saudi Aramco has suspended a deal to build a $10 billion refining and petrochemicals complex in China. Aramco decided to stop investing in the facility in China’s Northeastern province of Liaoning after negotiations with its Chinese partners and Aramco declined to comment on it. The uncertain market scenario could be behind the decision. The joint venture was signed when Prince Mohammed bin Salman was in Beijing in February last year.

Oil prices rose on Monday. Brent crude added 32 cents, to $45.12 a barrel, while U.S. WTI crude was up 35 cents, to $42.36 a barrel. Prices rose as China plans to ship large volumes of U.S. crude in upcoming months which outweighed concerns over a slowdown in demand recovery. Chinese oil firms have already booked tankers to transport at least 20 million barrels of U.S. crude for August and September.

Oil prices have fallen after a rise in US-China tensions that was spurred by Beijing moving to impose security laws on Hong Kong. Brent crude dipped 4.9% to $34.40 per barrel whilst WTI crude dropped 5.7% to $32 per barrel. The oil sell-off came after China said it would impose security laws on semi-autonomous city Hong Kong. That caused Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index to plunge more than 5% overnight.

China National Offshore Oil Corporation (CNOOC), the largest offshore oil and gas producer in China, and Royal Dutch Shell, the world's leading energy and petrochemical conglomerate, signed a strategic cooperation framework agreement worth 5.6 billion U.S. dollars on Sunday. The new cooperation, based on the CNOOC and Shell Petrochemical Company Limited, is the CNOOC and Shell Huizhou phase III ethylene project.

Chinese oil producer, PetroChina yesterday reported to a first-quarter net loss, sliding over declining oil prices and moderate refined fuel demand, as rising oil and gas production. A filing made to the Hong Kong Stock Exchange by the energy giant recorded a net loss of $2.29 billion for the January-March quarter, in comparison to a net profit reported last year. Revenue for the firm fell 14.4% to $72 billion.

Oil prices slipped again in the international market on Thursday, dipping over Washington's ban on travel from Europe following a WHO declaration that the coronavirus outbreak is now a pandemic. Brent crude declined by 5.3%, to $33.88 a barrel. US WTI crude slipped by 5.3%, to $31.24 a barrel. President Trump, yesterday, suspended all travel from Europe to the United States as he disclosed measures to contain the spread of coronavirus.