BEIJING, China: In the face of cold winter temperatures, China's search for larger volumes of natural gas is expected to further jar world energy markets.
China with the largest energy consumption worldwide has emerged over the last few years swiftly into a country that has quickly increased its natural gas purchases amid its enormous influence on international trade patterns.
Environmental regulations, coupled with safety constraints relating to coal, massive use of LNG export facilities globally, as well as soaring commodity rates have resulted in the nation being reeling from energy shortages. China's voracious natural gas appetite has additionally been backed by policies that have driven the replacement of coal-fired plants with natural gas, along with robust growth in the economy.
Over 50 percent of the Chinese provincial regions are receiving rationed energy during the past weeks, sending already hyperactive coal and natural gas prices further north, said Gavin Thompson, vice-chair of Wood Mackenzie, Gavin Thompson, quoted by Natural Gas Intelligence. China's leadership undoubtedly anticipated this, but as the country's power crisis mounts, the message to its state-owned energy suppliers is clear: blackouts this winter will not be tolerated, Thompson added.
In September, Chinese state agency NDRC made it known that it will expand the assistance to drive additional natural gas output, as well as help to secure domestic coal and imports of liquefied natural gas. During a specific meeting, the government apparently instructed government-owned firms to seek out supplies of energy during the current winter months.
The impact of China's power crunch is being noted in a blog post in the initial part of October. As Beijing's 'at all costs' directive pushes coal and gas prices higher, governments, energy suppliers and customers across Asia and Europe are bracing for a tough winter ahead, he added.