China imported a record-high volume of crude oil last year, beating the previous annual record from 2020, as fuel demand rebounded after the Covid restrictions were abandoned in early 2023. Chinese crude oil imports jumped by 11% year-on-year to 11.28 million barrels per day (bpd) in 2023, according to data …
Read More »Kazakhstan Quadruples Grain Exports to China
The easing of the COVID-related sanitary regime at Chinese customs crossings enabled Kazakhstan to quadruple the amount of agricultural goods it exported to the country in 2023 as compared to a year earlier. The 2.2 million tons, which comprised wheat, barley, soybeans, flax and sunflower seeds, that was sent to …
Read More »China’s Shale Exploration Yields Promising Results
China Petroleum & Chemical Corporation, or Sinopec, has found oil and gas at a shale exploration well in the Sichuan province in the southwest, estimating that the initial flows could lead to the discovery of around 100 million metric tons of hydrocarbons. The Xingye-9 exploration well in the Chongqing municipality …
Read More »China Launches Fusion Consortium to Build “Artificial Sun”
The government of China has formed a new national industrial consortium focused on the development and advancement of nuclear fusion technology, news outlets have reported. The consortium China Fusion Energy Inc. is being led by the China National Nuclear Corporation (CNNC), which has been conducting research and development, construction, production, …
Read More »China’s First Nuclear Power Plant Sets New Record
The Qinshan Nuclear Power Plant, China’s first indigenous nuclear power plant set a record high in 2023 of 96.8 percent in its unit capability factor (UCF), based on statistics provided by the World Association of Nuclear Operators, known as WANO. The power plant is located in Haiyan County, east China’s …
Read More »China Surpasses Russia as Top Trade Partner in Central Asia
China has eclipsed Russia as the main trade partner of all five Central Asian states, according to official statistics. Kazakhstan is the most recent Central Asian country to see Beijing pass Moscow in terms of annual trade turnover. For the first nine months of 2023, China accounted for a 21.3 …
Read More »China Maintains Fuel Export Quotas Steady for 2024
The first batch of fuel export quotas that China has issued for 2024 is basically unchanged from the first batch of allowances for 2023, Chinese consultancies and trading sources told Reuters on Friday. Chinese refiners are allowed to export diesel, gasoline, and jet fuel under strict quota regulations, with allowances …
Read More »China to Seek Rare Exemption from Sanctions on Russia’s Latest LNG Project
Chinese state energy giants plan to ask the United States for exemptions from the fresh sanctions on Russia’s Arctic LNG 2 project in a rare request to the U.S. as LNG deliveries could be threatened, Bloomberg reported on Friday, citing sources familiar with the issue. The U.S. imposed last month …
Read More »ADNOC Signs LNG Deal with Unit of China’s ENN
ADNOC has signed an agreement for the supply of LNG to ENN LNG (Singapore), a wholly owned subsidiary of China-based ENN Natural Gas. Under the 15-year heads of agreement, ADNOC will deliver at least 1mtpa of LNG to ENN LNG (Singapore). The LNG will be mainly sourced from ADNOC’s low-carbon …
Read More »China Steps up Shale Gas Exploration, Production
China’s natural gas consumption hit an all-time high this weekend amid a cold wave that froze parts of the country. One of the biggest gas importers in the world, China must have felt its dependency on external supply particularly acutely this weekend. But it is working to change things, boosting …
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