BEIJING—China aims to produce 1% more crude oil this year than in 2019 and to boost natural gas output by 4.3%, official targets showed on June 22, as the country seeks to safeguard energy security even after a coronavirus-driven collapse in oil prices.
The world’s biggest energy consumer has set a goal of producing 193 million tonnes of crude, or 3.85 MMbbl/d, in 2020, and 181 Bcm of gas, according to an annual production plan released by the National Energy Administration (NEA).
Those numbers compare to actual output of around 191 million tonnes of crude and 173.62 Bcm of gas last year.
The NEA said it would focus on expanding its four key energy production bases to achieve the goals—one offshore in Bohai Bay in northern China, as well as onshore in Sichuan province in the southwest, in the Erdos Basin and in the far western Xinjiang region.
It also aims to push forward development of so-called new energy—including renewables, fuel ethanol and coal-to-liquids—to improve its capability to replace conventional hydrocarbons.
The annual plan also set a target of having around 900 gigawatts of installed non-fossil fuel power generation capacity in 2020 and further lowering the share of coal in China’s primary energy mix to around 57.5%.
Coal’s share in China’s energy consumption slipped to 57.7% in 2019, although coal usage was still up 1% year-on-year in tonnage terms.
Installed non-fossil fuel power generation capacity—consisting of hydro, solar, wind and nuclear power—stood at just below 820 GW at the end of 2019, NEA figures show.
Recommended Reading
Freshly Public New Era Touts Net-Zero NatGas Permian Data Centers
2024-12-11 - New Era Helium and Sharon AI have signed a letter of intent for a joint venture to develop and operate a 250-megawatt data center in the Permian Basin.
Paisie: Trump’s Impact on All Things Energy
2024-12-11 - President-elect Donald Trump’s policies are expected to benefit the U.S. oil and gas sector, but also bring economic and geopolitical risks.
US Supreme Court Should Avoid Climate Change Cases, Biden Administration Says
2024-12-11 - The Biden administration is urging the U.S. Supreme Court to reject efforts by oil companies to prevent lawsuits accusing the fossil fuel producers of deceiving the public about climate change.
Marketed: Hess 3-Well Package in Bakken Shale
2024-12-11 - Hess Corp. has retained EnergyNet for the sale of a three-well Bakken Shale package in Mountrail and Ward counties, North Dakota.
Energy Transfer Shows Confidence in NatGas Demand with Pipeline FID
2024-12-11 - Analyst: Energy Transfer’s recent decision to green light the $2.7 billion Hugh Brinson line to Dallas/Fort Worth suggests electric power customers are lining up for Permian Basin gas.