Page 10 - AsiaElec Week 09

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KEPCO inserts fuel rods at UAE’s Barakah NPP
SOUTH KOREA
SOUTH Korea’s state-run KEPCO said it had taken a one more step towards the commercial start-up of the first reactor at the 5,600-MW Bar- akah NPP in Abu Dhabi.
It said it had inserted the first fuel rods into the first reactor at the plant, which gained final safety approval from the UAE’s nuclear watchdog in February.
A KEPCO-led group of South Korean com- panies won the $20bn contract to build four 1,400-MW reactors at Barakah, 270 km east of Abu Dhabi.
It is a crucial project for KEPCO, as it is its first export project for its own APR-1400 nuclear technology. Construction of the first reactor was completed in 2018 and the three others are under construction.
The 5,600-MW plant will provide up to UAE’s electricity needs, as the country diversifies away from natural gas for power generation.
“The first operation of a nuclear plant in the
UAE will contribute to the stable supply of energy for the country,” KEPCO said in a statement.
KEPCO also has a five-year maintenance deal fortheBarakahNPP,includingprovidingmain- tenance services and experienced manpower to Nawah Energy, the operator of the Barakah plant and a subsidiary of Emirates Nuclear Energy Corp.
KEPCO’s efforts to export its nuclear technol- ogy – it is also interested in a 2,800-MW project in neighbouring Saudi Arabia – come as nuclear expansion is being scaled down in its domestic market.
South Korean President Moon Jae-in was elected in 2017 on an environmental improve- ment platform, and is pursuing a policy of reduc- ing South Korea’s reliance on nuclear power.
NPPs contribute about 30% of South Korea’s 110,000 MW generating capacity, although this has fallen from 40% since the 2011 Fukushima disaster in Japan.™
FUELS
Chinese gas demand growth slows in January
CHINA
CHINA’S apparent consumption of natural gas climbed by 3.4% year on year in January to 29.65bn cubic metres, the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) announced on February 28.
Production of the fuel expanded by 8.4% y/y to 16.66 bcm, while imports of both liquefied natural gas (LNG) and piped gas shrank by 1.6% y/y to 13.35 bcm.
The decline in imports was driven by LNG buyers either declaring force majeure in their contracts or deferring deliveries in response to the spread of the coronavirus.
China National Offshore Oil Corp. (CNOOC), the country’s largest LNG importer, was reported in early February to have declared force majeure on prompt deliveries from at least three suppliers.
PetroChina, meanwhile, was reportedly forced to delay discharge timings for multiple cargoes because it could not send enough work- ers to its Rudong, Dalian and Caofeidian LNG terminals to run them at full capacity.
Importers are anticipated to cut their imports of the super-chilled fuel in favour of pipeline
imports owing to the latter’s price advantage. Indeed, state-owned China National Petro- leum Corp. (CNPC) announced on March 2 that it had ramped up imports of Russian gas via the Power of Siberia pipeline since the duct opened on December 2, 2019. The state major said the 3,000-km pipeline had pumped 840mn cubic metres of gas between its start-up and February
25.
The pipeline is expected to deliver 4.6 bcm
this year, before ramping up to its full capacity of 38 bcm per year in 2025.
China’s demand for natural gas is widely predicted to slow this year, owing to far-reach- ing government efforts to slow the spread of the virus.
China’s infection rate appears to be slowing, with the government reporting 125 new con- firmed infections and 31 deaths in the preceding 24 hours on March 3.
The figure for new infections is the lowest since January 20. Achieving that reduction has required central and local governments to impose travel restrictions and municipal lockdowns.™
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w w w . N E W S B A S E . c o m Week 09 04•March•2020