{"id":19895,"date":"2016-08-11T15:06:22","date_gmt":"2016-08-11T07:06:22","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/austcham.org\/?p=19895"},"modified":"2016-08-11T15:06:22","modified_gmt":"2016-08-11T07:06:22","slug":"ertp110816","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/westchina.austcham.org\/?p=19895","title":{"rendered":"Talking Points Energy and Resources"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"EnergyTPB\"<\/a><\/p>\n

In today\u2019s talking points: Increased Chinese import volumes provide welcome relief to Australia\u2019s commodity exporters; China\u2019s current coal power capacity sufficient to meet demand until 2030; China\u2019s State Grid Corporation launches a $13 billion bid for Brazilian utilities; oil prices drop at report of large US crude inventories.<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

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Increased import volumes partially offset lower commodity prices<\/strong><\/p>\n

China has increased import volume of liquefied natural gas (LNG) and iron ore, however low prices mean imports actually declined by 12.5 percent in US dollar terms. According to figures released Monday, Chinese LNG imports rose 20 per cent to 30.5 million tonnes over the first seven months of the year. Despite the pick-up in volume the price paid for these cargos by Chinese entities was down by 20 per cent over the period. The spot price for LNG in Asia has fallen 25 per cent this year to around $US5.60 per million British thermal unit down from prices as high as $US15 \u2013 and China is making the most of the low prices. Likewise, Iron ore volumes have been particularly strong over the period, rising 8 per cent to 582 million tonnes. In July China imported 88.4 million tonnes. Australia makes up around two-thirds of China\u2019s imported iron ore.<\/p>\n

Source: <\/em>Australian Financial Review<\/em><\/a><\/p>\n

China\u2019s current coal power capacity can meet demand until 2030<\/strong><\/p>\n

China\u2019s energy demands through 2030 can be met without building additional coal power plants, according to analysis by China Dialogue\u2019s Fu Sha and Zou Jia. China\u2019s pre-existing and under-construction coal power plants, combined with the targeted 15 percent renewable energy target and improvements in operating efficiency will meet anticipated demand until at least 2030. The analysis predicts China\u2019s per-person energy demand will peak between 5500-7000kWh by 2030, in line with OECD countries like Britain, France and Japan. Even at the high end of this scale \u2013 based on a strong recovery from the current slowdown \u2013 China will only experience a 3 percent energy shortfall with current and under-construction coal power capacity. The analysis follows the Central Government\u2019s decision in April to halt the construction of additional coal power plants.<\/p>\n

Source: China Dialogue<\/a><\/p>\n

China\u2019s State Grid Makes Bid for Brazil\u2019s CPFL Energia<\/strong><\/p>\n

State Grid\u2019s proposal for a $US13 billion dollar investment in Brazil\u2019s CPFL Energia would be the largest Chinese investment in a South American country if it goes ahead. Brazil is currently in the midst of a deep recession and lacking for capital. Further, the vast distances between Brazil\u2019s hydropower resources and its big cities make it well-suited for China\u2019s ultrahigh-voltage, long-distance technology. State Grid is China\u2019s main grid operator, and provides electricity to more than a billion people. With assets totalling more than $450 billion at the end of 2015, State Grid is looking at multiple overseas sites for investment. Brazil\u2019s CPFL was privatised in the 1990s, and is today made up of dozens of power companies, and is one of Brazil\u2019s largest utilities.<\/p>\n

Source: Wall Street Journal<\/a><\/p>\n

Price of Oil Dips on Report of Large US Crude Inventories<\/strong><\/p>\n

Oil prices dropped after markets received word that the United States\u2019 crude inventories had increased to 523.6 million barrels, the highest seasonal level in decades. West Texas Intermediate for September delivery dropped $1.06, or 2.5 per cent, to $US41.71 a barrel. Total volume traded on Wednesday was 25 per cent below the 100-day average. Saudi Arabia pumped 10.67 million barrels of oil a day in July, a record volume compensating for a lower unit price. China\u2019s and India\u2019s market remains strong, despite plateauing demand in established economies. Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro said he spoke to Saudi Arabia’s king about boosting oil prices<\/p>\n

Source: The Age<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

In today\u2019s talking points: Increased Chinese import volumes provide welcome relief to Australia\u2019s commodity exporters; China\u2019s current coal power capacity sufficient to meet demand until 2030; China\u2019s State Grid Corporation …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[39,26],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-19895","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-energy","category-news"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/westchina.austcham.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19895","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/westchina.austcham.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/westchina.austcham.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/westchina.austcham.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/westchina.austcham.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=19895"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/westchina.austcham.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19895\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/westchina.austcham.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=19895"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/westchina.austcham.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=19895"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/westchina.austcham.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=19895"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}