News in Depth: China grapples with energy crisis; Struggles to diversify from coal is hampered by Soaring Gas Prices

Tongchuan, a city of 800,000 in central China, built a natural-gas distribution system in the late 1990s to combat its reliance on coal and battle smog created by its local cement factories. The pollution was so bad that Tongchuan couldn't be seen on satellite images, prompting China's the...

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Bibliographic Details
Published inWall Street journal. Europe
Main Author Shai Oster and Patrick Barta in Tongchuan, China
Format Newspaper Article
LanguageEnglish
Published Brussels Dow Jones & Company Inc 03.03.2006
EditionEurope
Subjects
Air pollution
Cities
Coal-fired power plants
Electricity
Energy industry
Gas-fired power plants
Gasoline prices
Liquefied natural gas
Mining accidents & safety
Natural gas
Nuclear energy
Nuclear power plants
Outdoor air quality
Planning
Supplies
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Summary:Tongchuan, a city of 800,000 in central China, built a natural-gas distribution system in the late 1990s to combat its reliance on coal and battle smog created by its local cement factories. The pollution was so bad that Tongchuan couldn't be seen on satellite images, prompting China's then-leader to dub it "the invisible city." Despite a significant improvement in Tongchuan's air quality, local leaders are planning a new plant and it is going to be powered by coal. They blame sharply rising gas prices. "We have plenty of coal, why don't we use it?" says Zhao Guanlong, the deputy director of the city's development and planning commission. China's three major oil companies remain optimistic that the country's gas business will take off and say they intend to build more terminals. Officials at [Cnooc] are expecting the first LNG cargo to arrive this spring in the country's first LNG terminal in Guangdong -- a joint venture of Cnooc and the U.K.'s BP PLC. They say they are proceeding with several new terminals including one in Shanghai, though they don't yet have final government approval for that project.
ISSN:0921-9986