KOREA
South Korea to hike power rates, tax coal use - WSJ - In-Soo Nam South Korea said Tuesday that it will raise electricity prices and impose taxes on the use of thermal coal in power plants as the country struggles to meet rising power demand. State-run power utility Korea Electric Power Corp. will be allowed to raise electricity rates by an average 5.4% from Thursday, the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy said in a statement. ... "The price hike is necessary to better balance the country's power demand and supply situation by possibly curbing demand for electricity," the ministry said in a statement. Asia's fourth-largest economy, which imports almost all of its energy resources, has been levying electricity tariffs on industrial users at well below cost in recent years
S.Korea's KOGAS says prices making it difficult to buy spot LNG - Reuters - Meeyoung Cho| South Korea's Korea Gas Corp (KOGAS) is running into difficulty procuring spot cargoes of liquefied natural gas (LNG) due to high prices, the head of the world's largest corporate buyer of LNG said on Friday. The state-run gas company is considering lowering the proportion of LNG imports it buys on the spot market, Jang Seok-hyo, president and CEO of KOGAS told Reuters on the sidelines of a South Korea and Canada gas forum.
Asia Spot LNG Prices for December Delivery Rose 11.5% on Stockpiling - Platts On a year-over-year basis, December prices increased 30.75%. Prices of liquefied natural gas (LNG) for December delivery to Asia increased 11.5% from November to $17.689 per million British thermal units (/MMBtu), as North Asian buyers began to build inventories a
CANADA
China state-owned energy giant draws up plans for massive LNG project in B.C. - Vancouver Sun |The Canadian subsidiary of the state-run giant is seeking permission from Canada's National Energy Board to export 24 million tonnes of super-cooled gas per year, or just over three billion cubic feet a day over 25 years from a proposed terminal at Grassy Point on B.C.'s northern coast, it said in an application to the federal regulator. First cargoes would be in the 2021 to 2023 time frame, the company said.
CNOOC heads group seeking to export B.C. liquefied natural gas - The Globe & Mail - Brent Jang An Asian group led by CNOOC Ltd. of China is seeking a licence to export liquefied natural gas from British Columbia as the competition heats up to develop huge LNG megaprojects on the West Coast.
Vancouver, Edmonton marked for two LNG plant projects - Vancouver Sun - Lauren Krugel Firms team up to construct gas plants to promote use in transportation
China's new cap on coal use could hurt viability of proposed local coal terminals - Vancouver Sun - Chuck Chiang Quek argues additional terminals with the goal of shipping more coal to East Asia may be a waste of time — and money — for those building the terminals.
JAPAN
Japan's soaring coal use may push down LNG imports this year - Reuters - Osamu Tsukimori Aaron Sheldrick | Coal consumption by utilities jumped 26 pct on year in Oct; 1,600 MW of coal-fired power coming online in Dec; Jan-Oct LNG imports by monopolies down 1 pct
Japan shippers plan to order 90 new LNG tankers worth $17.6 bln by 2020 - Reuters - Yuka Obayashi Keith Wallis | Japan's top shippers plan to order around 90 new liquefied natural gas (LNG) tankers worth about 1.8 trillion yen ($17.61 billion) by 2020 as they gear up to transport rising volumes of the superchilled fuel from North America and Australia.
Tokyo Electric Power Co (TEPCO), the cash-strapped operator of the crippled Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant, and three Mitsubishi group companies are seeking to open the new facilities as early as 2020, the leading Nikkei business daily said. The project is aimed at helping TEPCO reduce its reliance on costly natural gas and create jobs in the area, the Nikkei said.
Japanese media are worried what China's natural gas targets will do to LNG prices - Huanqiu Shibao - Hamid Parshiv(?). If China meets its 2020 10% share Nat gas target what will it do to LNG prices?
According to IEA Asia is going to become the center of global energy trade - Fin Daily - Zhang Xudong just in case you weren't paying attention
CHINA
Shanghai Officials (not Beijing) Tell Children, Elderly to Stay Inside Due to Smog - Time - David Stout | Pollution warning issued a day after the 2013 Shanghai International Marathon
China State Council Pledges Tax Change to Cut Coal Reliance - Caixin - Zhang Xia State Council's new approach would put focus of levies on value instead of volume, raising costs for domestic producers. The cabinet unveiled a document titled an Opinion to Promote the Stable Operation of the Coal Industry on November 28. It says the government will speed up a shift in the coal tax from one focused on volume to one based on value. This would significantly increase costs for coal producers, and thus be an attempt to cut back on the country's heavy use of coal. China is the world's largest producer, buyer and user of coal.
China moves to aid struggling coal industry, cut low-grade imports - Reuters Fayen Wong Rebekah Kebedeh China will raise its threshold for coal imports, tighten approvals for new coal mines and push industry consolidation in a bid to help its coal sector, which is struggling with overcapacity and widespread losses.
China tightens coal mine approval - Xinhua | China will raise the threshold on new coal mines and halt approval on those that do not meet specified requirements, in the latest effort to regulate the oversupplied sector. New coal mines with annual output below 300,000 tonnes and coal-gas outburst collieries with output below 900,000 tonnes will no longer gain approval, says a circular from the General Office of the State Council. Due to falling demand, severe overcapacity and restructuring toward cleaner fuel, the coal industry has been stuck in protracted bickering since last year. Thursday's circular also promised to ease tax burdens on coal producers, strengthen quality checks on imports and improve the exit mechanism to allow swift closure of exhausted mines.
China Aims to Increase Big Coal's Clout - WSJ - China Realtime Report | In a policy proposal unveiled Thursday, the State Council said it wants big corporate champions to manage the economic development and environmental consequences of the industry, which also has a slew of smaller operators. The government said it would "encourage the consolidation of coal companies, with large-scale companies as the main body, building large-scale modern coal mines within large-scale coal bases."
Chinese firms want to buy coal assets overseas, but on the cheap - Reuters - Sonali Paul Beijing's new environmental policies to boost demand for high-grade coal; Companies wait for valuations to fall, see coal prices staying weak; Tough to wean away China from coal, say consultants
China Coal Weekly: Prices Keep Rising - China Perspective - Tony Jin |The price of the 5,500kcal steam coal in the Bohai Rim rose by 11 yuan to 576 yuan/ton in the week through November 26 2013, according to figures from Cqcoal.com. It was the 7th straight week that of price gain since October 16, and price has risen 8.7%, or 46 yuan
$2bn road for coal trucks opens in Inner Mongolia - Xinhua - Li Yunping shortens distance 100km to 265km, increases capacity
Both U.S. progress on shale gas and a growing dependency on oil and cars at home have Chinese policymakers hunting for ways to meet a big need. China's oil import dependency has risen from 32 percent at the beginning of this century to 57 percent last year. In the past few years, Chinese car ownership has exploded while the country's oil production has grown only slightly. A few days ago, China's National Energy Administration incorporated shale gas for the first time as a strategic and emerging industry. The government is expected to increase financial support to this industry by reducing fees and royalties and adding new tax breaks to shale gas mining firms.
Energy in mind as China embraces the market - Interfax - Li Xin Market forces could be set to reshape China's energy sector, as Beijing looks to hand them a greater role in commodity prices and in
state-dominated sectors such as oil and gas
The move away from coal to help address air pollution problems is being undermined by a lack of the alternative energy source. Winter has only just started and China's is experiencing its biggest natural gas shortage ever.At a shareholder's meeting in May, the chairman of China National Petroleum Co. (CNPC), Zhou Jiping, announced that "resources are extremely tight this year." The company supplies nearly 70 percent of China's natural gas. ... Some research institutions predict the country's shortfall will hit 10 billion cubic meters.
China's anti-pollution drive risks running out of gas - Reuters - Adam Rose David Stanway | A chronic shortage of natural gas is hurting China's plan to move away from burning coal to heat homes and offices, raising the prospect of more choking air pollution this winter and beyond. The problem is worst in northern China, where air pollution mainly caused by decades of reliance on coal has lowered life expectancy by an estimated 5.5 years compared to the south, Chinese and international researchers said in July.
China considers pipeline reform to boost gas supply - Reuters - Chen Aizhu David Stanway| PetroChina-dominated grid limits small gas producers;* Small producers forced to sell at discount;* Mandating access could encourage shale, coal bed gas output - As China struggles to rid cities of choking smog, one of the early priorities for Beijing's economic reforms will likely be to force state-run PetroChina to allow private producers fair access to natural gas pipelines.
Environment Low on List of China's Reforms - RFA - Michael Lelyveld | China's government has assigned a relatively low priority to energy and the environment in its agenda of planned reforms, experts say. Recent policy documents released by the ruling Chinese Communist Party Central Committee following its third plenary session under President Xi Jinping make no mention of the smog choking China's cities or immediate steps to bring it under control.