Expansion rate of energy consumption set to slow

Annual rises in energy consumption are expected to slow as the Chinese economy continues at its "new normal" pace of growth, according to the country's new head of the National Energy Administration.

Growth of average consumption of primary energy is expected to drop to 3.4 percent per year through 2020 and about 2.3 percent by 2030, said Nur Bekri, head of the NEA, in a report in the organization's in-house publication.

Bekri, the former chairman of the resources rich Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region in northwestern China, was appointed as the head of the NEA and vice-chairman of the National Development and Reform Commission in December.

Experts said the numbers indicate that growth in the world's largest energy consumer will moderate in the long run.

China's energy consumption has witnessed an average 7.9 percent annual growth over the past 14 years. Coal is still dominant in China's energy mix, comprising about 66 percent of its total energy consumption. Some 4.26 billion metric tons of standard coal equivalent were used in 2014, according to NEA figures.

Bekri said China is now using more oil and gas as a replacement to coal as well as using more non-fossil fuels as substitute sources of energy.

"China will follow the global trend of expanding the proportion of oil and natural gas, while at the same time boosting its development of non-fossil energies," he said.

He said a priority this year will be to outline the nation's energy production and consumption strategy for 2030, benchmarking that against the nation's target to peak its carbon emissions around the same time and raise the share of non-fossil fuels to around 20 percent by 2030.

The NEA will also map out an action plan on energy production and consumption for the Silk Road Economic Belt, focused particularly on green-energy pilot projects, he said.

Six regions have been highlighted for international energy cooperation by China: Russia, Central Asia, the Middle East, Africa, America and Asia Pacific, he said.

Lin Boqiang, director of the China Center for Energy Economics Research at Xiamen University, said the country's "One Belt, One Road" strategy will play a central role in shaping China's long-term energy plans, adding that the slowing demand highlighted by Bekri will also help in the country's planned shift from fast expansion toward improved efficiency.

Bekri said the NEA is mapping out feasibility studies for projects including hydro power development in Southwest China, nuclear reactor construction, unconventional and offshore oil and gas exploration, and more use of clean coal. He said he expected China to improve its domestic oil output by developing at least nine new 10-million-ton oilfields, both onshore and offshore.

Cao Xianghong, an academician at the China Academy of Engineering, said China must strengthen its national strategic oil stock reserve system to improve energy security.

Last month, the National Development and Reform Commission announced it planned for the first time to set a minimum inventory level for commercial crude oil to keep the domestic oil market stable. All crude oil refineries must keep their inventories above 15 days' average processing level, and no less than 10 days' deposits if international crude oil prices exceed $130 per barrel, according to a guideline issued by the country's top economic planner.