Photo: CFP
Overestimate China's demand for natural gas in the energy sector, oil and gas companies are paying the price.
When China's economic growth the past few years, global energy companies are betting on its natural gas demand growth. They invested hundreds of millions of dollars, for liquefied natural gas as LNG (liquefied natural gas), and they loaded on tankers, lack of energy sold to Asian buyers. Oil cleaner than natural gas, and an adequate supply is considered to be the next important source of energy.
Huohuade·luogesi of the Oxford Institute for energy studies (Howard Rogers), told the Wall Street Journal, has been considered the ideal energy market in China, it has a growing demand for LNG. Rutgers was a United Kingdom oil companies (BP) of natural gas business managers.
Recent market data paints a picture of a pair of unexpected bad. This year, China's LNG imports fell 3.5%, and last year that number rose to 10%. The first half of China's total natural gas consumption grew by about 2%, compared to the years of double-digit growth, showing a huge change.
Platts energy information report said, because of the economic slowdown, industry for China's natural gas demand forecasting is becoming more and more pessimistic. April 2014, the national development and Reform Commission predicted that in 2020, China's demand for gas is 4000.42 trillion cubic meters. In November, a figure adjusted to 360 billion cubic meters. In January this year, PetroChina think 310 billion to 360 billion cubic meters more practical; by June, the International Energy Agency (IEA), the predicted value is further reduced to 314 billion cubic meters.
Research Department of Citibank said by 2018, the market faces a glut of over 25 million tons of LNG in the world, this figure exceeds the total of China's LNG imports last year. Accompanied by a fall in oil prices, demand for LNG will make the great depression hit the energy industry.
Analysis of the Wall Street Journal said there are several reasons can explain the market reduction in demand for LNG in China: including Government controls on prices, making natural gas more expensive, while Chinese imports of oil and gas pipeline through Central Asia gas, and plans to introduce more Russia pipeline natural gas.
Last year, China began to show signs of reduced purchases of LNG.
In May 2014, China and Russia signed an energy cooperation agreement, Russia will supply China with 38 billion cubic meters of gas per year, equivalent to about 20% of total demand in China last year. During negotiations, construction of a second pipeline between China and Russia, more of Russia gas to China. Cooperation of the two countries Russia reduces dependence on European markets, while China has also found a new supply of natural gas. In addition, China also hopes to expand its neighbor Turkmenistan and Kazakhstan's natural gas supply and marketing cooperative.
In the background of weak gas demand in China, the pipeline natural gas and LNG competition makes bets on energy companies encounter difficulties in LNG projects. Goldman Sachs CEO Blake Fei Enli lymphatic cancer
Australia's Arrow energy company, is a Netherlands Royal shell and PetroChina's joint venture company, coal gas and liquefied for export, are the company's main business. The Wall Street Journal said the company last year lost a $ 1.5 billion (about 6.78 billion yuan), including 700 million Australian dollars (about 3.164 billion yuan) loss on impairment of assets, the company attributed the poor economic environment. This year, shell has shelved the LNG export project.
By the end of this year, in Australia a LNG project will be put into operation. Under the previous agreement, Sinopec will therefore receive 7.6 million tons a year of LNG supply, the project, ConocoPhillips and Origin energy company SINOPEC to develop. Industry analysts told the Wall Street Journal, due to supply the Chinese market, Sinopec is likely to sell the gas on the spot market, and therefore causing a certain amount of economic loss.
Analysts said the Wall Street Journal, more cost-effective compared to China's gas natural gas and that the Government price controls on natural gas, also restrained the market demand. In Jinjiang, Fujian, local businesses due to price reasons, rather than energy supply from the gas into LNG, the city is famous for its production of ceramic products. Some companies said, after switching to natural gas, the production costs will become three times times when using gas.
Industry predicts that in the next few months, domestic gas prices will decline, which will help market demand improves.
No comments:
Post a Comment