Page 13 - AsianOil Week 12 2023

AsianOil POLICY AsianOil

China looks to power more oil and gas

operations with renewables

CHINA CHINA plans to use renewable energy to power newly-installed power generation capacity last
enhanced oil and gas recovery operations at its year, although fossil fuels still provide the back-
The main potential fields, the country’s National Energy Adminis- bone of China’s energy supply. Coal-fired power
for renewable energy- tration (NEA) reported this week. contributed 56.2% of Chinese energy consump-
powered oil and gas With the use of pressure-boosted minjing tion in 2022, while oil accounted for 17.9% and
projects is in the techniques powered with renewables, gas pro- gas 8.5%, according to data published by the
northern and western duction in China could be issued by 3 bcm per National Bureau of Statistics.
parts of China such as year, and oil output by over 2mn tonnes (40,000 Hydroelectric power generation in south-
Xinjiang, Gansu and bpd), the NEA said. New onshore and offshore western China was hit by droughts, causing diffi-
Heilongjiang oil and gas fields could be explored and devel- cult power outages last year. That crisis hastened
oped with the aid of renewables, it said. Beijing’s discussion to draw up plans for some
The main potential for renewable ener- 100 coal-fired power plants to support increased
gy-powered oil and gas projects is in the north- wind and solar generation capacity, although
ern and western parts of China such as Xinjiang, the concern is that a share of these assets could
Gansu and Heilongjiang, the NEA said. The become stranded as China progresses its energy
blueprint for an “integrated development” of transition.
renewable and conventional energy sources The NEA also stressed the importance of
comes as Beijing is looking to put greater empha- demand-side reforms to bolster China’s energy
sis on energy security while also demonstrating security, such as reductions in power usage at
its commitment to reducing emissions. peak times, and expanding the capacity of energy
Renewables accounted for 76.2% of storage and “smart grid” systems. ™

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