Thurs & Friday
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
July 19th
国际油价大幅上涨 成品油价或迎新机制下最大涨幅 -中国经济网Prices for reference crude oil have increase 5% since last adjustment before entering friday's refined product adjustment window. 5% would have been too large an adjustment before the latest reform//从上一轮成品油调价时间窗打开至今，国际油价大幅上涨，尤其是受地缘政治因素影响的布伦特原油期货。因此，仅9个工作日，成品油价格调整的参考原油品种的变化率已经超过5%。业内机构均预测，19日本轮成品油调价时间窗打开时，成品油价将面临新机制下的最大涨幅，汽柴油涨幅至少在300元/吨以上。

神华再次大幅降价 山西煤企欲抱团应对- 人民网/中国经济网 Shenhua using cost advantages (and preferential access to transportation?) to again lower prices and take more market share from smaller producers; Shanxi mine alliance cannot stop the price decrease, but may slow the decline, according to expert Zhang Zhibin.//河北沧州黄骅港码头是神华集团在北方最重要的港口煤炭集散地，在继6月初的第一轮大降价之后，神华集团在这里引发的第二轮降价潮再次震动整个环渤海区域。...7月18日，中煤远大煤炭分析师张志斌对记者证实，目前神混一号5500大卡最新成交价570元/吨，而在7月初该价格为575-580元/吨，而该煤种占据黄烨港同等煤种市场比例的20%-30%之间，“导致贸易商抛货现象普遍”。

Shale gas builds bridges between China and US - Interfax While China is turning to the US for technology and knowledge (on shale gas extraction), it is also keen to exploit the US’s emergence as a major LNG exporter. The possibility of US gas exports to China inched forward during the S&ED when Washington said it had “decided to inform China about the statutory process required by the Natural Gas Act which governs the evaluations of LNG export applications, to free trade agreement [FTA] countries and to non-FTA countries such as China”...The US Energy Department has so far cleared two exports projects – Freeport LNG and Sabine Pass – to ship LNG to non-FTA nations, and has set an end-of-year deadline on deciding whether to grant export permits to another 20 projects.

临沂非民用天然气酝酿涨价 乘出租车成本增加 - xinhua/沂蒙晚报 Shandong Linyi price bureau still yet to announce what / how to adjust natural gas for car use; for the time being prices are unchanged.//今后汽车加气是不是要涨价了呀？涨多少呀？”今年6月28日，国家发改委宣布，自7月10日起，调整非居民用天然气门站价格，而汽车“油改气”所加装的天然气属于非居民用天然气，也在此次调价行列之中。...16日，记者走访临沂市多家加气站、天然气开发利用公司以及与之相关的出租办、物价局等相关部门单位了解到，临沂市要等待省相关部门下发调价通知后，才会根据实际情况进行相应调整，各加气站目前还依然延续着之前的气价。... 加气站：购气价格已上涨

财政部再提煤炭资源税从价计征 将适当提高税负水平- meitanwang During Energy Safety small-group meeting that was part of last week's US-China Strategic Economic Dialogue, Lou Jiwei said China will move ahead to reform natural resource taxes and will consider ad valorem taxes for coal and increased tax levels.  Coal Industry Analyst Zhang Zhibin (张志斌) says it will be very hard to implement and might raise taxes 300% from 5rmb per tonne to 20 rmb per tonne (at 5% of 400RMB value).//财政部网站今天发布消息称，楼继伟在第五轮中美战略与经济对话能源安全小范围特别会议上发言称，中国将全面推进资源税改革，并研究把煤炭等资源品目逐步纳入从价计征范围，并适当提高税负水平。...煤炭行业分析师张志斌对大智慧通讯社表示，“如果从价计征，按照现在山西400元/吨的出矿煤价，收5%资源税就是20元/吨，而目前山西资源税是5元/吨，税负负担增长300%，执行起来将面临巨大困难。”

煤炭资源税“量改价”迫近 专家吁税率定为5%
In response to Lou Jiwei talk of ad valorem tax on coal, reporter checks in with experts including Xiamen Univ China Energy Resource Research Center director Lin Baiqiang who says 5% tax is a good number.//财政部部长楼继伟日前提到，下一步将研究把煤炭等资源品目逐步纳入从价计征范围，并适当提高税负水平。多位专家接受记者采访时表示，下半年有关部门很可能将从价计征范围扩大到煤炭等应税品目。专家建议煤炭资源税税率应该定在5%左右。

CNPC looks over Petrobras assets worth US$2b - Bloomberg The assets in Colombia and Peru could be worth about US$2 billion and CNPC may face competition from other South American producers, two of the sources said...Petrobras is seeking funds to support its plans to spend US$237 billion by 2017. Investments are set to surge as it develops the ultra-deepwater Libra field, Brazil's largest discovery... State-owned CNPC announced in March that it would spend US$4.2 billion to buy a stake in Eni's natural gas assets in Mozambique. The Beijing-based producer is also set to pay about US$5 billion to purchase a stake in the Kashagan project from state-backed KazMunaiGaz National in Kazakhstan, people with knowledge of the matter said last month.

我对美韩多晶硅征收保证金-renminwang/京华时报 China's ministry of commerce is imposing temporary anti-dumping measure on polycrystalline silicon used to mfg solar panels.//据新华社电商务部18日发布公告，决定自7月24日起对来自美国和韩国的进口太阳能级多晶硅采取征收保证金临时反倾销措施。根据公告，商务部初裁认定，在本案调查期内，自美国进口的太阳能级多晶硅倾销幅度为53.3%至57%，自韩国进口的倾销幅度为2.4%至48.7%。公告称，太阳能级多晶硅的进口经营者在进口上述来源的被调查产品时，应依据初裁决定所确定的倾销幅度向中国海关提交相应的保证金。

Chinese company charged with stealing clean energy software from Wisconsin - Journal Sentinel Industrial espionage case highlights tensions over trade secrets | A federal indictment charges that Sinovel Wind Group, two of its employees in China and a former employee of one of its suppliers — American Superconductor Corp., or AMSC, a U.S. technology company with operations in Middleton and New Berlin — conspired to defraud the United States and stole trade secrets via wire fraud.

南大洋海洋保护区方案迟未达成 要环保还是要资源? -新华/羊城晚报The Commission for the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources comprising 25 countries and the EU met in Germany July 11-16 to discuss an idea they have been promoting since the 1980s, the protecting areas of the Antarctic Ocean which contain in excess of 10,000 unique species of life. No agreement was reached on plans such as provide 1.6-1.9 million square km marine reserve as well a special research and egg-laying preserves.//2013年7月11日至16日，来自25个国家和欧盟的代表齐聚德国城市不莱梅，在这里，他们将为一个历史性的决定展开讨论。2012年的10月22日到11月1日，在澳大利亚塔斯马尼亚州首府荷巴特市，代表们就曾为这个提案展开了讨论。不过直到会议结束，他们也没有达成妥协。最终，他们同意在两次年会之间在德国举行一次特别的闭会期间会议，于是代表们就来到了不莱梅。这次会议，代表们要讨论的提案的内容是关于在南大洋建立海洋保护区的。从上世纪80年代起，南极海洋生物资源养护委员会（CCAMLR）就提出了这个设想。吉姆·巴奈斯是南极和南大洋联盟的执行总监，他说：“我第一次参加关于南极和南大洋环境保护的会议是在1980年，当时南极海洋生物资源养护委员会还没有成立，但是已经有了建立南大洋海洋保护区的设想。此后，南极海洋生物资源养护委员会接过了旗帜，一直为这个设想成为现实而做着努力。”

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
July 18th
Myanmar-China gas pipeline starts trial operations - Platts Gas has started to flow in the Myanmar-China natural gas pipeline, marking the start of trial operations, state-owned China National Petroleum Corp. said Wednesday on its website.

Related:中缅天然气管道7月试运行 谋求突破马六甲困局 - sohu/来源：第一财经日报 About 50% of China's oil is imported; 80% of that passes through Malacca Strait en route from Mid-East and Africa. Once the parallel oil-transporting part of the China-Myanmar pipeline is open, it will cut China's dependence on Malacca Strait for oil imports by 1/3rd according to this article//尽管此前经历众多波折，但这条新管道将一改以往中国能源运输对马六甲海峡的过渡依赖，不仅有助于中国节省在能源运输方面的成本，同时，在确保中国能源运输安全方面具有重大战略意义。

Related:Tests begin on Myanmar Shwe Gas pipeline as NGOs cry foul - Mizzima
... a new report released the same day by a Thailand-based NGO, Shwe Gas Movement, highlights “glaring weaknesses” in Myanmar’s legal framework regarding the extractive industries that, according to a statement, are “resulting in human rights abuses, environmental damage and poor revenue distribution.”...“Natural resources should be used to benefit the country, not to enrich a select few at the expense of the environment and human rights of the affected communities,” said Wong Aung, Coordinator of the Shwe Gas Movement, in a statement on Wednesday.

China's Coal-Rich County Denies Cutting Free Medicare - Bernama
Coal-rich Shenmu County of northwest China's Shaanxi Province has vowed to continue free medical care and education despite rumours that the local government is deeply in debt and cannot provide such services any more.

国企收编煤矿后割肉卖煤 山西煤老板转投房产获利颇丰-北京wang/华夏时报  Former Shanxi private coal company bosses are probably happy now they got squeezed out when they did. In 2009 after three rounds of consolidation over three years, Shanxi was down to 100 companies and the number of mines cut by 60%. Prices were then still high and bosses that cashed out (sometimes reluctantly) bought property in Beijing, built 5-star hotels and even entered the milk business. Given the poor state of the coal industry and the rise in Beijing property prices they seem fortunate//轰轰烈烈的煤炭整合运动让曾经的煤老板以及煤炭运输、贸易等私营企业越来越难觅其踪，他们或者被整合进入了国企、央企，成为国字号煤企的其中一部分；或者直接卖掉手上的家当，把资金撤出来转投了其他行业 ... 国有化晋煤生不逢时 山西煤老板祸兮？福兮！“祸兮福之所倚，福兮祸之所伏。”当山西煤老板们被一场煤矿国有化整肃出市场时，还以为受了天大的委屈，不成想，仅仅过了几年，当经济大环境发生变化之后，煤炭价格连跌不止之时，才发现那不过是丢掉了一块烫手山芋。在山西从事了多年煤炭贸易的商人李进远(化名)两个月前把刚大学毕业的儿子介绍到一家新能源投资机构，用他的话说：“不让儿子接手自己的公司，是因为煤炭这行已经不适合私人来做了。

　　

End of China boom a challenge, not a crisis: Australia - SCMP/AFP
Treasurer Chris Bowen on Thursday insisted an end to the Chinese resources boom was not a crisis for Australia’s mining-driven economy, but admitted it was a challenge...Australia’s economy is facing a difficult transition from its reliance on commodities as China’s growth slows and the resources investment boom peaks.

China Resources Defends Shanxi Coal Mine Acquisition - Bloomberg
China Resources Power Holdings Co. (836) said it paid a fair price and complied with disclosure rules on coal assets bought in 2010, responding to allegations of misconduct over the deal...China Resources Power obtained two independent assessments on the value of the acquisition, the company said in a statement filed to Hong Kong’s stock exchange today. It didn’t have to report the deal to the exchange because its equity in the acquisition was below 50 percent, the threshold for filings, it said. The company has renewed mining rights for one of the three mines and is applying for approvals on the other two, it said.

Sat, Sun, Monday
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
July 15th

柴油车“国四”标准实施在即 排放升级须监管从严-中国证券报 The National 4 standard on heavy diesel emission is about to be introduced (2+ years after it was meant to be implemented). It is expected to face many difficulties considering that parts of the country haven't reached National 3 standards and there are more and more old cars on the road and no real aftermarket emission systems upgrades.//我国乘用车国四排放标准实施以来，至今已有三年多时间，由于标准实施过程中执行不够严格，实施效果不尽如人意。当前，北京等地已实施“京五”排放标准，重型柴油车“国四”排放标准实施在即，只有全方位全环节的从严监管，才能保证排放标准切实执行，汽车工业的节能减排才能真正实现。

东三省水泥行业现状调查 产能严重过剩 违规扩建横-新华新闻/上海证券报 Dongbei has 50% overcapacity in cement and yet much capacity is still being added. 3 examples of illegal projects, in Jilin, Liaoning and Heilongjiang. Along with steel, cement is one of the most energy intensive industries.//水泥产业属国家严格限制的产能过剩行业，尽管政策三令五申，但违规项目依然我行我素。根据2009年国务院《关于抑制部分行业产能过剩和重复建设引导产业健康发展若干意见的通知》（下称“38号文”），在2009年9月30日前尚未开工的水泥项目一律暂停建设，对确需建设的项目由国家发改委组织论证核准。2013年5月10日，国家发改委和工信部再次联合发布《关于坚决遏制产能过剩行业盲目扩张的通知》，要求坚决遏制水泥等过剩行业的盲目扩张，对未批先建、越权核准、边批边建的违规项目，尚未开工的不准开工，正在建设的要停止建设。

Related:Energy efficiency targets may be missed, Beijing economic planners admit - SCMP China said it may miss its five-year energy efficiency targets as local governments continue to rely on energy intensive industries to boost growth, despite damage to the environment. . . The National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) issued that warning in a report this week. It also admitted for the first time that energy data collected at the local level was found to be overly optimistic in comparison to national data, hindering progress.

火电毛利六年最高 上网电价明年望每度下调0.08元 新华新闻/ 证券日报Low coal prices mean thermal power companies will have to adjust residential prices downwards, but not until January 1 of next year; in the meantime, what's bad for the coal industry is good for the electric industry.//煤价跌跌不休，电企受益于成本大降，早已摆脱了昔日亏损的困局，仅一季度，电力行业上市公司的净利润增速就创近三年新高，毛利率也创六年来最高。从电企的半年报业绩预告来看，电企今年上半年业绩可谓集体大增，其中，国投电力预报业绩增长更是高达57倍。
值得注意的是，按照煤电联动的新规则，当国内电煤价格波动幅度超过5%时，以年度为周期，相应调整上网电价。目前，煤价已经跌破5%的预警线，电价上调的呼声也日益高涨。

China Oil Data Show 1H Crude Runs up 4.1% on Year - WSJ China processed 236.79 million metric tons of crude oil in the first half of 2013, up 4.1% from a year earlier, data from the National Bureau of Statistics showed Monday.

Fuel price reform boost for Sinopec Shanghai Petrochemical - SCMP - Sinopec's second-largest oil refinery reported a first-half profit, thanks to an upgrade that cut costs and Beijing changing the fuel mechanism... Wang quoted the National Development and Reform Commission, which said that current domestic fuel prices translate into crude costs of some US$7 to US$8 a barrel lower than international crude prices of around US$105.

河北污染企业顶风作案 基层官员对北京怨气重 新华新闻/ 经济参考报 7 of top 10 most polluted cities in China are in Hebei where local cadres are complaining about the pressure from the capital to stop polluting Beijing's air. Central government only matches 30% of funds for environmental projects and funds are tight already. Beijing can control car its own local car emissions; diesel is 5% of vehicles and 50% of NOX emissions (maybe the new Nat'l 4 standard will help)//北京、河北、天津、山西等地统称为环渤海经济圈，如今这些地方有了个尴尬的新名字，“环首都雾霾圈”。雾霾之下，无人能独善其身。道理显而易见，然而面对责任，区域内成员却开始互相推诿。...在北京看来，作为雾霾“首恶”的机动车尾气是其唯一能有所作为的。中国科学院大气物理研究所研究员王跃思告诉《经济参考报》记者，机动车尾气排放是北京PM 2.5(粒径在2.5微米以下的细颗粒物)的最大来源，约为四分之一。北京，这座产业结构、能源结构在全国遥遥领先的“首善之都”，一方面屡屡强调自己对于来自河北、山西的跨界大气污染“管不了”，一方面在治理尾气时因瞻前顾后寸步难行。

Nuclear Energy in a Changing China - AllThingsNuclear.com In the wake of the protests, the Jiangmen leadership took steps to educate its citizens about the safety risks and economic benefits of the CNNC fuel facility. In addition to sharing everything they learned from CNNC, the leaders invited nuclear energy experts from leading Chinese universities to give presentations to local groups concerned about the facility. The description of these efforts in the Nanfang Ribao story reminds me of presentations I received as a child from Baltimore Gas & Electric, which conducted a massive public relations campaign before building the Calvert Cliffs nuclear plant in my home state of Maryland.

天然气加气要多排半个小时队 青岛暂未涨价-半岛网/城市信报Qingdao has lots of taxis that use natural gas and it is taking half an hour longer to refill; drivers blame the July 10 increase in non-consumer natural gas prices.//“最近加气怎么这么难？平时最多半个小时加完了，最近这段时间没一两个小时加不上气”。14日上午，的哥衣先生打电话抱怨，最近加气难，常常需要排很长时间才能加上气。记者了解到，这与国家出台政策调整非民用天然气价格有关，但目前，岛城尚未出台涨价新规。

10,000 join Guangzhou refuse incineration protest - SCMP... Nearly 1,000 armed police officers were seen clearing the way for demonstrators, many of whom carried colourful flags and large banners criticising the incinerator plan. The sea of people appeared to stretch about a kilometre along the roads.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
July 14
中国民间试行有奖垃圾分类培养民众环保习惯-新华网Residents of two Beijing neighborhoods can earn points using a swipe card to sort their trash; points can then be exchanged for money. Smart trash cans in one Hangzhou neighborhood enable residents to win an IPhone 5 - and an annual winner can win the right to use a car for 5 years - and  Shenzhen is setting up fixed times/places for collecting certain kinds of waste.// 新华网北京７月１５日电（孙伟丽　朱青　彭文卓）每天早上，北京市龙潭街道绿景馨园小区门口的分类垃圾收集点总是格外热闹，无论是送孩子上学的家长、上班的白领，还是晨练的大爷大妈，都在这里“刷卡”扔垃圾。

山东省环保厅发动网友“随手拍”污水- 搜狐/齐鲁网Shandong is enlisting the people in the war on sewage. They are encouraged to photograph drainage problems and upload photos information on pollution source, location, smell, color and downstream effect.//齐鲁网环保频道7月14日济南讯（记者 王娜娜）今天下午，济南吉华大厦会议室热闹非凡。下午三点，伴随着一阵阵热烈的掌声，山东省城市（含县城）建成区污水直排环境"随手拍"活动的启动仪式在这里隆重举行。为进一步加大全省重点流域污水直排河流的新闻宣传和舆论监督，推进全省水环境质量持续改善，山东省公益环保联合会（筹）与齐鲁网等省级媒体将于2013年7月15日在全省范围内开展污水直排环境"随手拍"活动。今天下午，这一备受瞩目的活动终于在济南正式启动，山东广播电视台总编辑吕芃、山东省环境保护厅副巡视员董秀娟等相关领导出席了此次启动仪式。

Villagers angry at losing Jiangmen uranium plant deal - SCMP Residents who stood to gain from relocation, compensation for processing plant project angry that protesters in Jiangmen won the day
Villagers there, who were slated to be compensated and relocated to make way for the 37 billion yuan (HK$46.4 billion) facility, suddenly found their hopes for a better life dashed..."I can't believe that we have had nothing again," one elderly villager told the Sunday Morning Post yesterday. "I almost got all the [relocation] money, but now we have to hand all of it back."

China's apparent oil demand in June surges 11.7% on year to 9.99 mil b/d - Platts China's apparent oil demand in June surged 11.7% year on year to 40.89 million mt, or an average 9.99 million b/d, according to Platts' estimates Monday, based on the latest preliminary government data.

国家能源局发布6月份全社会用电量-国家能源局Hydro generating capacity is up 9.7% versus June 2012. Nuclear generating capacity is up 16.7% versus last year. They have a nice table of data . . .National Energy Agency (NEA) announced an increase in electricity use of 6.3% versus June last year. June YTD consumption is up 5.1% vs last year -- industrial consumption is up 5.7%, residential is up 3.9%.// 6月份，全社会用电量4384亿千瓦时，同比增长6.3%。1-6月，全国全社会用电量累计24961亿千瓦时，同比增长5.1%。分产业看，第一产业用电量461亿千瓦时，同比下降0.8%；第二产业用电量18419亿千瓦时，增长4.9%；第三产业用电量2925亿千瓦时，增长9.3%；城乡居民生活用电量3156亿千瓦时，增长3.9%。

节能环保吹响“集结号” 光伏有望打头炮？新华金融Nice charts of capacity and market share. PV industry support is chief among green industries to receive renewed policy support based on last week's announcements. Consolidating the PV industry and accelerating domestic PV installation -- part of new Li-conomics.// 新华网消息 7月12日，国务院总理李克强主持召开国务院常务会议，研究部署加快发展节能环保产业等工作。从具体细节来看，包括高效节能产品、环保装备等领域都获得明确的政策支持。分析人士指出，新能源电力行业虽然未在此次会议中明确提出，但是从行业产值和产业带动力等角度来看，同样有望获得决策层重视。其中，此前率先获得国务院常务会议关注的光伏产业，或许有望再度成为社会各界及资本市场关注的焦点。
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
July 13
新疆建成中国最大天然气储备库-新华网China's largest natural gas storage facility going into service in Xinjiang. Allows for seasonal storage. 10.7 billion cubic meters of storage // 新华网乌鲁木齐７月１４日电（记者 赵春晖）中国规模最大的天然气储气库日前在新疆呼图壁县建成，这一大型储气设施投入使用后，可有效保障“西气”稳定东输，并可解决天山北坡经济带冬季“气短”问题。

燃料涨价天然气汽车的经济优势将打折扣 - 搜狐/汽车周报Natural gas price adjustment lessens the appeal of adopting cars and trucks that use natural gas//试点已久的天然气定价市场化步伐终于有了答案。近日，国家发改委发出通知，决定自7月10日起调整非居民用天然气价格。此次价格调整不涉及居民用气部分，并对非居民用天然气分为存量气和增量气两部分进行区别调价。调整后，全国平均门站价格将由每立方米1.69元提高至1.95元。

天然气价格上调，不但牵动用气工业企业的神经，也引起汽车用户的高度关注，特别是商用车用户对天然气的价格十分敏感。

长沙车用天然气价格今起涨0.3元/立方米-sohu/潇湘晨报In Changsha natural gas prices for cars and trucks goes up 3 mao per m3.//本报长沙讯在长株潭三市，非居民用气价格与车用天然气价格都上涨了。7月14日，记者从省物价局获悉，《关于调整长沙、株洲、湘潭三市非居民用气价格的通知》（下称“通知”）已于日前下发。该通知称，三市非居民用气价格统一调整为3.48元/立方米，其中株洲、湘潭市含0.03元/立方米的价格调节基金。

Landmark medical study offers first statistical link between pollution and rising cancer deaths - SCMP Landmark three-decade medical study establishes first comprehensive statistical proof linking rising malignancies and pollution on mainland...In Shenqiu county, Henan, the mortality rate from liver cancer increased more than fivefold between 1973 and 2006, according to the joint study by the Chinese Centre for Disease Control and Prevention, the Chinese Academy of Sciences, and the Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences.

Electronic Waste - Moving Mountains - China Water Risk This review covers the extent of China's electronic waste & her attempts at finding solutions
-20-50 million metric tons of electronic waste generated annually; fastest growing waste stream & highly toxic-70% global electronic waste is dumped in China; potential reputation risk issue for brands-China moves to tackle issue: pilot buy-back programme results in ~50 million appliances safely recycled

环保部门“真数据” 为何遭遇“真不信” 凤凰/广州日报Why aren't environmental authorities trusted? 1) saying industry meets standards in the middle of crises ("wearing the same pants as industry"); 2) hiding behind gov't secrecy. What hardships do environmental directors face? Pressure from above for GDP targeting reasons thus not able to take objective, scientific role.// 要想获得老百姓的信任，环保部门就必须“硬”起来：首先，环保部门自身不能被“污染”。前天，环保部部长周生贤表示，环境数据总跟老百姓感受不一致，老百姓不信。事实上，数据是真的，老百姓不信也是真的，因为中国环境经历的问题，块头太大、浓度太高，我们工作减下来这部分，老百姓感受不到。比如PM2.5，不降到60以下，人们很难有一个明显感受。

Groundwater Crackdown – Hope Springs - China Water Risk MEP's company blacklists represent an unprecedented level of information released and increased transparency
...It is the speed of the government’s reaction to groundwater woes since the first announcement of the groundwater plan in late 2011 that is unprecedented. Recent speeches and policies from central and local government all point to increasing government scrutiny and activity on groundwater pollution and enforcement and to a serious crackdown on polluting companies. However, a draft revision of the 1989 Environmental Protection Law released for consultation by the National People’s Congress on 25 June 2013 appears to be a fly in the ointment.

民日报：公众有权知道环评底细-人民日报People's Daily journalist Wu Weizheng: The people have a right to see environmental assessments on large projects. It's the law and author thinks it would help lessen suspicion of large projects, e.g., people's criticism and suspicion of Shen Nong Jia airport focused on lack of environmental report. Continues to say that folks not understanding reports is okay; the right to see is not the the same as the the right to understand -- and just because a project has environmental impact doesn't mean it won't be constructed.//任何工程都会影响环境，有影响不等于不能建。建设项目要争取公众的理解，环评公开是基 | 将于今年10月竣工通航的神农架机场，因建设中削平5个山峰，引发舆论质疑。这个项目有没有环境影响报告书，是质疑的一个焦点。一项投资10亿元的工程，怎么可能没有环评报告？人们当然希望它有。在哪里呢？当地政府过去没有公布，现在也不拿出来。一个建设项目的环评，被披上神秘面纱，不符合法律规定。

China's environment ministry among world's most 'embarrassing' - Guardian Environment minister makes admission as study shows life expectancy 5.5 years lower in Northern China due to pollution.

WEDNESDAY
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
July 17th
The Price of Power: the New Chinese Leadership Begins Rebalancing with Resource Prices - Peterson Institute Over the past half year, the State Council and the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) have released measures reforming the pricing of petro, natural gas, coal, and electricity. As these reforms continue to take shape, higher resource prices coupled with anticipated reforms to the pricing of capital could prove to be a major boon for rebalancing.//Summary review of several recent reforms in energy pricing: more frequent adjustments to refined products and removal of the 4% limit on price increases, a large increase starting July 10 in non-consumer natural gas price, and this year's allowance for independent contracting for coal between power companies and miners. Nice price charts. 

Related:成品油调价窗口本周五开启 调价幅度或超320元/吨 - 人民网/中国新闻网中新网7月18日电 自7月5日国内成品油价格小幅下调后，国际市场原油价格持续大幅反弹，布伦特原油期货价格已经由7月初的每桶103美元左右上涨至目前的每桶108.8美元，涨幅近6%。国内成品油调价窗口将于本周五打开，按照当前国际油价情况预测，成品油调价幅度将超过320元/吨。

Related:明日油价或迎新机制以来最大涨幅 每升或涨0.3元-人民网/新京报 美国原油库存下滑、埃及局势动荡再加上投机基金炒作，进入7月以来，国际油价大幅上涨，其中纽约油价涨幅近10%，布伦特油价涨幅逾7%。专家预计国内成品油价很可能创出新定价机制执行以来的最高涨幅，调价最快于明日（19日）24时兑现。

Prices of natural gas set to rise further: analysts - Global Times China's demand for natural gas conti­nues to grow, and as exporters of natural gas have either increased their prices or reduced their supply, prices are likely to rise, analysts said Wednesday.Australia suspended supplying natural gas to China National Offshore Oil Corporation (CNOOC), China's largest offshore oil producer, on Friday, the fourth time Australia has breached its long-term natural gas supply contract with China, the 21st Century Business Herald reported Wednesday.

China in $5 billion drive to develop disputed East China Sea gas - Reuters Chinese state-run oil companies hope to develop seven new gas fields in the East China Sea, possibly siphoning gas from the seabed beneath waters claimed by Japan, a move that could further inflame tensions with Tokyo over the disputed area...Beijing had slowed exploration in the energy-rich East China Sea, one of Asia's biggest security risks due to competing territorial claims, but is now rapidly expanding its hunt for gas, a cheaper and cleaner energy to coal and oil imports.

动力煤价“跳水”跌至5年新低 央企降价地方煤企结盟 - 人民网去/经济参考报 //Thermal coal prices dropped below 600rmb per tonne in the last month and are still falling. Shenhua has empowered local sellers to set their own prices in order to maintain/take market share from small producers who are linking up for protection; for first half of the year profits are down 50% or more for most producers (at Shenhua down 20%). Industry expert says the industry is in an adjustment period; insiders say small producers and traders may be washed out / go bankrupt. Despite high temps, inventories are staying up and prices are dropping. Compared to two years ago prices are down 30% for 5500k cal coal.//16月26日的603元/吨到7月17日的583元/吨，中国煤炭市场风向标环渤海动力煤价格指数“跳水式”跌破600元大关后，仍在不断刷新近5年的最低记录，短短三周就跌了20元。“市场需求低迷，再加上各省搞‘煤电互保’扶持本地煤企，央企神华、中煤又为了抢市场率先降价，其他煤企只能跟风，引发煤价恐慌性下跌。”中煤远大煤炭分析师张志斌解释说。

Related:China H1 coal output falls, miners' losses grow -industry -Reuters
* Coal companies in 6 provinces have sunk into red - CCTD
* Tight credit, weak economy have led miners' receivables to surge
* Price outlook remains bleak in the second half
China's coal output fell 3.7 percent in the first half of 2013, with a sluggish economy piling pressure on miners already seeing a surge in unpaid bills from clients and forcing more miners into the red, an industry portal said..."Most of the state-owned coal mines ramped up output ... but many regional and private mines have either stopped production or trimmed output," CCTD said on its website...It added that total output from private mines between January-May fell by 13.9 percent from year ago.

国开行总资产7.8万亿 八成投向煤电油运等领域 - 新华网 In the first half of the year loans  made to support chengzhenhua in Liaoning and Anhui. The majority of the new loans went to Dongbei and Western regions (zhongxibu). 80% of cumulative loan balance is for coal, electricity, oil and transport (one wonders if they will continue to fund coal power - World Bank and U.S. Ex-Im Bank will not do so anymore) //记者从国家开发银行近日召开的二季度工作会议上获悉,截至6月末,该行资产总额7.8万亿元,八成贷款投向煤电油运等重点领域。...今年上半年,国开行加大对实体经济的支持力度,累计80%以上的贷款投向煤电油运、农林水、通讯和公共基础设施等领域,今年上半年新增发放2888亿元;在安徽、辽宁开展新型城镇化试点;新增中西部贷款2124亿元,东北老工业基地贷款389亿元,促进区域协调发展。

China digs deep for uranium to meet rising energy demands - Jagran Post China, one of largest importers of uranium, has drilled to a depth of nearly 3,000 metres to secure a steady supply of the yellow cake for its nuclear reactors to meet its growing energy demands. China National Nuclear Corp. (CNNC) announced that a "technological breakthrough" of drilling to 2,818.88 metres was achieved in the resource-rich Fuzhou City in east China's Jiangxi Province, with its drilling reaching a new depth with a cutting section twice as big as an ordinary optical disk . . . China imported 16,126 tons of uranium in 2011, six percent lower than the 17,135 tons it imported in 2010. It buys 95 percent of its uranium from Kazakhstan, Namibia, Australia and Uzbekistan.

Mayor plans 'clean water' scheme for Guangzhou - SCMP 'River chiefs', sewage and treatment plants proposed in bid to tackle foul waterways ...Guangzhou plans to inject 14 billion yuan (HK$17.6 billion) into cleaning up its black and putrid-smelling rivers over three years - but not everyone is convinced that the plan will yield the desired results...Mayor Chen Jianhua released his plan to improve the water quality in Guangzhou's rivers on Friday, the Guangzhou Daily reported yesterday...Under the scheme, a total of 12 new sewage- and rainwater-treatment projects will be completed by 2016. All sewage from 283 villages is earmarked to be treated before it is discharged and 16 main waterways thoroughly cleaned.

Sino Oil and Gas to up prices at Sanjiao CBM project - Interfax  CBM explorer Sino Oil & Gas Holdings (Sino O&G) plans to raise the price of gas sold from its Sanjiao CBM project in Shanxi province, capitalising on increases to China’s city-gate gas prices that took effect last week.

The race to ship liquefied natural gas (LNG) to Asia - Globe & Mail As natural gas exports to the United States drop as a result of a drilling boom south of the border, big plans are being made to ship Canada’s natural gas to growing markets in the Asia-Pacific, where it can be sold at a premium...shipped to waiting customers in places such as Japan, South Korea, Taiwan and China.

TUESDAY
------------------------------------------------------------------------
July 16th
Cadmium pollution in Yunnan reopens debate over public interest litigation - Chinadialogue.net Murky legislation, high appraisal costs and a lack of accountability mean that legal reform is desperately needed. Zhang Chun considers whether China can learn from the US on this issue...Since 2011 Friends of Nature and the Chongqing Green Volunteer Association have been investigating the dumping of 5,000 tonnes of cadmium waste in Luliang county, culminating in a suit against Heping Technology and Luliang Chemicals. Because the NGOs were unable to cover the high costs of appraising the harm done, the two parties opted for pre-trial mediation. The defendants subsequently rejected a deal including remedial works and risk evaluation, meaning the case proceeded to a new hearing.// This is from Chinadialogue - all of their articles are in English and Chinese.

中缅天然气管道缅甸段进气试运行 - sina & 中国石油新闻中心 Myanmar - China pipeline trials started // 中缅天然气管道皎漂首站进站阀门打开，上游气田向管道进气；8时30分，天然气纯气头进入皎漂首站；8时45分，站内天然气置换完成。至此，中缅天然气管道缅甸段投入使用，进入试运行阶段。

CNPC completes China's first 30 Bcm/year synthetic coal gas pipeline - Platts State-owned China National Petroleum Corp said Tuesday that it has commissioned China's first dedicated synthetic coal gas pipeline in western Xinjiang province.

PetroChina’s Rudong LNG terminal imports rise by 62% - Interfax PetroChina’s Rudong import terminal received 1.77 mt of LNG during H1 2013, up by 62.4% from the same period in 2012, the General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine said in a statement on Monday.

广州市公交车8年内逐步改烧液化天然气- Xinhua In 8 years all of Guangzhou's buses will run on compressed natural gas//广州市公交车8年内逐步改烧液化天然气 | LNG将成为未来一个时期主要运用清洁能源，对改善广州空气质量有积极意义
新快报讯 广州市政府常务会议昨日还审议通过《广州市公交行业逐步推广应用液化天然气公交车工作方案》。市交委副主任刘卫表示，广州将在未来8年内逐步实现LNG（液化天然气）替代LPG（液化石油气）的工作。目前在用未过报废期的公交车不强制改用LNG。据了解，为改善空气质量，2003年开始广州逐步推广应用LPG公交车，以替换此前普遍采用的柴油公交车。截至目前，广州出租车有18000多辆，公交车接近1万辆，绝大多数都是使用LPG。

China’s construction material industry faces higher gas bill - Interfax China’s construction material industry – the country’s third-largest industrial gas consumer – is facing an 18% jump in its gas bill after Beijing hiked wholesale gas prices for commercial and industrial users last week for the first time in three years, according to an industry association report.

PetroChina unit in Shaanxi shut after pipeline rupture leaks oil into reservoir - SCMP

Ruptured pipeline has polluted reservoir, a drinking water source for Yanan residents | A PetroChina unit in Shaanxi has been shut down after oil from a ruptured pipeline contaminated a source of drinking water for 200,000 residents of the city of Yanan.

中海油与BP就南海一深水区块签订石油合同-新华网CNOOC & BP sign production sharing contract for deepwaters in South China Sea. BP is responsible for the exploration costs. CNOOC will get no more than 51% of profit//中海油总公司16日与BP公司就南海珠江口盆地一深水区块签订石油合同，这也是中海油成立以来与外国合作伙伴签订的第200个石油合同。...根据合同规定，在勘探期内，BP将承担100％的勘探费用。中海油将有权参与合同区内任一商业油气发现最多51％的权益。中海油将担任该区块的作业者。

Weak China oil imports contrast with modest demand growth: Clyde Russell - Reuters How do you reconcile the apparently contradictory facts that China's oil demand and refinery runs hit four-month highs in June while imports of crude fell to the lowest in nine months?

中国环保监管缺位又“越位” 企业守法反而吃亏-经济参考报"Violating regulations is cheap, obeying them is expensive." According to various interviewees in the article, companies that comply with the regulations cannot be competitive on costs; if you comply and the other guy does not, you will lose market share. Even if you pay to install equipment, it is still better not to run it; and if you run it is still cheaper to run it improperly (e.g. burning high-sulfur coal on de-sulfurization equipment designed for low-sulfur coal). Faking statistics is the unwritten rule and the head engineer at the Environmental Bureau says it is more frightening to have misleading / sub-standard statistics than to have statistics at all.//“违法成本低，守法成本高。”一些企业投巨资搞环保，却陷入“劣币驱逐良币”的境地。中部一家煤化工企业负责人诉苦说：“我们环保投入已超过1亿元，包括除尘站、脱硫设备等，导致产品在价格竞争上处于劣势。公司产品每吨卖1100元，而别人每吨只卖1000元，结果市场只认不搞环保企业的产品。”...“违规排污有得赚”更成为企业违法排污的“护身符”。甘肃省一化工企业负责人给记者算了一笔账：年产1000万吨的水泥厂，如果投运减少大气污染物排放的脱硝设备，每年将增加成本超过5000万元，但停用1天就能省几十万元；即便被环保部门查处，最多也只是被罚款20万元。因此，有的企业宁交罚款、排污费，也不去治理。

Power plan sparks rally in solar firms - SCMP Shares of mainland solar panel and parts producers rose yesterday after Beijing raised its 2015 target for solar farm installation by 167 per cent, but analysts say the rally will quickly lose steam unless Beijing unveils long-awaited details on subsidised power tariffs to show how it can achieve the target.
　

Related: 国务院发光伏"国六条"细则 "十二五"再扩容75% - 经济参考报在美欧对华光伏“双反”的现实下，光伏产业翘首企盼国内市场的扩大。15日，《国务院关于促进光伏产业健康发展的若干意见》出台。这份文件进一步细化了国务院提出的刺激国内光伏需求的“国六条”，将2015年国内光伏发电装机目标在2000万千瓦基础上再上调75%，今后3年将新增装机容量3000万千瓦，并首次明确电价和补贴机制以及光伏准入门槛。

六月铁路货运量下降未现改善 - meitanwang Despite the recently announced re-org of the rail industry, shipments by rail have fallen.// 昨日(7月15日)铁路货运组织改革已正式实行整一个月，多家媒体报道铁路货运量止跌回升，但财新记者今日从中国铁路总公司获得数据显示，货运组织改革以来货运量未见明显改善，6月份铁路货运发送量等指标均呈环比下降趋势。

3亿吨进口煤冲击真相：国内运费高过跨国运输 -第一财经日报(上海) High domestic shipping costs bare major reason coal imports are cheaper than domestic supply.//进口煤的终端成本低于国内煤炭成本，即便有17%的增值税，进口煤的价格仍然低，而这主要是由于进口煤的税费、运输成本以及生产成本较低造成的。今年夏天，由中煤能源（601898.SH）和中国神华（601088.SH）两个中国煤炭行业“大佬”掀起的新一轮降价大潮已经在全煤炭行业蔓延，其他煤炭企业也被迫应战，导致煤价一跌再跌，直到目前仍没有止跌迹象。而这背后的原因，除国内煤炭需求难见好转外，进口煤的冲击也不容小觑。

Experts (Mostly) Back New Study on China’s Killer Coal -WSJ blogs A recent study asserting that a well-intentioned policy of distributing free coal in the winter could have cut China’s collective life expectancy by more than two and a half billion years has set off a vigorous debate in the media and drawn skeptical responses from Chinese government officials.
Experts, for their part, have generally endorsed the research —  with a few caveats.
The paper, published last week by economists at MIT and three other universities, estimated that air pollution from coal heating cut average life expectancy by five and a half years in northern China during the 1990s.

China’s next bet is on natural gas - Globe & Mail Despite these negative indicators (economic slowdown), growth in overall absolute energy consumption – barrels of oil, tons of coal, cubic feet of gas, and so on – is still robust and rising. That’s because China’s total energy use – now 20-per-cent greater than that of the United States – is compounding off of a much larger base of consumption. In other words, it doesn’t take as much economic growth on a per-cent basis to draw on greater amounts of energy in an absolute sense.

国家能源局发布6月份全社会用电量
National Energy Agency (NEA) announced an increase in electricity use of 6.3% versus June last year. June YTD consumption is up 5.1% vs last year -- industrial consumption is up 5.7%, residential is up 3.9%.

Hydro generating capacity is up 9.7% versus June 2012. Nuclear generating capacity is up 16.7% versus last year. They have a nice table of data . . .

 6月份，全社会用电量4384亿千瓦时，同比增长6.3%。
1-6月，全国全社会用电量累计24961亿千瓦时，同比增长5.1%。分产业看，第一产业用电量461亿千瓦时，同比下降0.8%；第二产业用电量18419亿千瓦时，增长4.9%；第三产业用电量2925亿千瓦时，增长9.3%；城乡居民生活用电量3156亿千瓦时，增长3.9%。

China vows to quadruple solar generating capacity by 2015
Mon Jul 15, 2013 Reuters - By David Stanway and Charlie Zhu

China aims to more than quadruple solar power generating capacity to 35 gigawatts by 2015 in an apparent bid to ease a massive glut in the domestic solar panel industry.

The target has been stated previously by the State Grid, which manages the country's electricity distribution, but now has the official backing of the State Council, the country's cabinet and its top governing body.

China will add around 10 GW per year from 2013-2015, the State Council said in a statement.

China's apparent oil demand in June surges 11.7% on year to 9.99 mil b/d
Singapore (Platts)--15Jul2013/451 am EDT/851 GMT

China's apparent oil demand in June surged 11.7% year on year to 40.89 million mt, or an average 9.99 million b/d, according to Platts' estimates Monday, based on the latest preliminary government data.


China's environment ministry among world's most 'embarrassing'
Environment minister makes admission as study shows life expectancy 5.5 years lower in Northern China due to pollution
..."I've heard that there are four major embarrassing departments in the world and that China's ministry of environmental protection is one of them," Zhou was quoted by the Chinese state news agency Xinhua as saying. He did not say what the other three departments in which countries were.

Closer Look: Guangdong Officials Wisely Came Clean on Soil Pollution
The province surprised the public by telling it how much Pearl River Delta land was tainted, a move other local governments should consider
By staff reporter Gong Jing

中国民间试行有奖垃圾分类培养民众环保习惯
Earn points by separating your trash: residents of two Beijing neighborhoods can sort their trash and earn points on swipe cards that can then be exchanged for money. Smart trash cans in one Hangzhou neighborhood enable residents to win an IPhone 5 - and an annual winner can win the right to use a car for 5 years. Shenzhen is setting up fixed time and places for collecting certain kinds of waste.
 新华网北京７月１５日电（孙伟丽　朱青　彭文卓）每天早上，北京市龙潭街道绿景馨园小区门口的分类垃圾收集点总是格外热闹，无论是送孩子上学的家长、上班的白领，还是晨练的大爷大妈，都在这里“刷卡”扔垃圾。

Nuclear Energy in a Changing China
Gregory Kulacki, China project manager and senior analyst (allthingsnuclear)
...
In the wake of the protests, the Jiangmen leadership took steps to educate its citizens about the safety risks and economic benefits of the CNNC fuel facility. In addition to sharing everything they learned from CNNC, the leaders invited nuclear energy experts from leading Chinese universities to give presentations to local groups concerned about the facility. The description of these efforts in the Nanfang Ribao story reminds me of presentations I received as a child from Baltimore Gas & Electric, which conducted a massive public relations campaign before building the Calvert Cliffs nuclear plant in my home state of Maryland.

新疆呼图壁县建成最大天然气储备库


山东省环保厅发动网友“随手拍”污水
Enlisting the people in the war on sewage - freely photograph drainage and upload photos information on pollution source, location, smell, color and downstream effect . . .

齐鲁网环保频道7月14日济南讯（记者 王娜娜）今天下午，济南吉华大厦会议室热闹非凡。下午三点，伴随着一阵阵热烈的掌声，山东省城市（含县城）建成区污水直排环境"随手拍"活动的启动仪式在这里隆重举行。
　　为进一步加大全省重点流域污水直排河流的新闻宣传和舆论监督，推进全省水环境质量持续改善，山东省公益环保联合会（筹）与齐鲁网等省级媒体将于2013年7月15日在全省范围内开展污水直排环境"随手拍"活动。今天下午，这一备受瞩目的活动终于在济南正式启动，山东广播电视台总编辑吕芃、山东省环境保护厅副巡视员董秀娟等相关领导出席了此次启动仪式。

燃料涨价天然气汽车的经济优势将打折扣
复制链接
2013年07月15日
Natural gas price adjustment lessens the appeal of adopting cars and trucks that use natural gas
三亚网http://www.qzhxw.com来源汽车周报)

试点已久的天然气定价市场化步伐终于有了答案。近日，国家发改委发出通知，决定自7月10日起调整非居民用天然气价格。此次价格调整不涉及居民用气部分，并对非居民用天然气分为存量气和增量气两部分进行区别调价。调整后，全国平均门站价格将由每立方米1.69元提高至1.95元。

　　天然气价格上调，不但牵动用气工业企业的神经，也引起汽车用户的高度关注，特别是商用车用户对天然气的价格十分敏感。

Fuel price reform boost for Sinopec Shanghai Petrochemical
Sinopec's second-largest oil refinery reported a first-half profit, thanks to an upgrade that cut costs and Beijing changing the fuel mechanism
...
But Wang said the reform is only one step towards Beijing's long-term goal of making domestic prices fully market-based. The mainland now caps fuel prices to protect the poor.

Wang quoted the National Development and Reform Commission, which said that current domestic fuel prices translate into crude costs of some US$7 to US$8 a barrel lower than international crude prices of around US$105.

10,000 join Guangzhou refuse incineration protest
Demonstrators march to township government offices to voice concern that plan will worsen pollution in leather-goods manufacturing centre

. . . Nearly 1,000 armed police officers were seen clearing the way for demonstrators, many of whom carried colourful flags and large banners criticising the incinerator plan. The sea of people appeared to stretch about a kilometre along the roads.

环保部门“真数据” 为何遭遇“真不信”？2013年07月15日
来源：广州日报
原标题：环保“真数据”为何遭遇“真不信”？
Why aren't environmental authorities trustworthy?1) saying industry meets standards in the middle of crises (wearing the same pants); 2) hiding behind gov't secrecy. What hardships the enviro directors face? Pressure from above for GDP targeting reasons -- not able to take objective, scientific role.

要想获得老百姓的信任，环保部门就必须“硬”起来：首先，环保部门自身不能被“污染”。

前天，环保部部长周生贤表示，环境数据总跟老百姓感受不一致，老百姓不信。事实上，数据是真的，老百姓不信也是真的，因为中国环境经历的问题，块头太大、浓度太高，我们工作减下来这部分，老百姓感受不到。比如PM2.5，不降到60以下，人们很难有一个明显感受。

长沙车用天然气价涨价 的士每百公里成本增3元
Nat gas prices affects on motorists in Changsha . . .
据潇湘晨报报道（记者戴和清实习生李林燕）在长株潭三市，非居民用气价格与车用天然气价格都上涨了。7月14日，记者从省物价局获悉，《关于调整长沙、株洲、湘潭三市非居民用气价格的通知》(下称“通知”)已于日前下发。该通知称，三市非居民用气价格统一调整为3.48元/立方米，其中株洲、湘潭市含0.03元/立方米的价格调节基金。

　　此外，三市的车用天然气销售价格统一从4.3元/立方米，调整为4.6元/立方米。调整后的车用天然气销售价与购进价之间的价差，在扣除CNG加气站的合理购销差价后所形成的收入，计入价格调节基金专项存储，统筹用于车用天然气价格调整所发生的补贴支出。

节能环保吹响“集结号” 光伏有望打头炮？
2013年07月15日 10:34
来源： 新华金融
PV industry support is chief among energy saving / environmental industries to receive renewed policy support based on last weeks announcements. Everyone wants a piece of Li-conomics. Nice charts of capacity and market share . . .

    新华网消息  7月12日，国务院总理李克强主持召开国务院常务会议，研究部署加快发展节能环保产业等工作。从具体细节来看，包括高效节能产品、环保装备等领域都获得明确的政策支持。分析人士指出，新能源电力行业虽然未在此次会议中明确提出，但是从行业产值和产业带动力等角度来看，同样有望获得决策层重视。其中，此前率先获得国务院常务会议关注的光伏产业，或许有望再度成为社会各界及资本市场关注的焦点。

东三省水泥行业现状调查 产能严重过剩 违规扩建横行
水泥产业属国家严格限制的产能过剩行业，尽管政策三令五申，但违规项目依然我行我素。
Dongbei has 50% overcapacity in cement and yet capacity is being added. 3 examples of illegal projects - in Jilin, Liaoning and Heilongjiang


火电毛利六年最高 上网电价明年望每度下调0.08元
2013年07月16日
来源： 证券日报

Low coal prices mean thermal power companies making large profits, will adjust consumer prices downward Jan 1 of next year, but in the meantime what's bad for the coal industry is good for the electric industry.

　　煤价跌跌不休，电企受益于成本大降，早已摆脱了昔日亏损的困局，仅一季度，电力行业上市公司的净利润增速就创近三年新高，毛利率也创六年来最高。

　　从电企的半年报业绩预告来看，电企今年上半年业绩可谓集体大增，其中，国投电力预报业绩增长更是高达57倍。

　　值得注意的是，按照煤电联动的新规则，当国内电煤价格波动幅度超过5%时，以年度为周期，相应调整上网电价。

　　目前，煤价已经跌破5%的预警线，电价上调的呼声也日益高涨。


Open one eye, close the other eye . . .
河北污染企业顶风作案 基层官员对北京怨气重重
2013年07月16日 07:31:35
来源： 经济参考报

7 of top 10 most polluted cities in China are in Hebei where local cadres are complaining about the pressure from Beijing to stop air pollution. First Beijing offloaded it's trash on Hebei . . .

note on the complaining hebei cadre story

7 out of 10 most polluted cities in hebei - heavy chem industry and 2nd hand cars. . . small villages stuck behind 80s industrialization (19% of bj pm 2.5). We deserve an award forhelping bj green , e.g. plastic 

biggest headache at xian level -strapped for cash, CG only 30% matching funds. took bunch of heavy industry from bj, who pays to upgrade . . .

BJ can control car emission; diesel is 5% of vehicles and 50% of NOX emissions, zero emiss cars in BJ get no subsidy, eg BYD

　　北京、河北、天津、山西等地统称为环渤海经济圈，如今这些地方有了个尴尬的新名字，“环首都雾霾圈”。雾霾之下，无人能独善其身。道理显而易见，然而面对责任，区域内成员却开始互相推诿。

　　在北京看来，作为雾霾“首恶”的机动车尾气是其唯一能有所作为的。中国科学院大气物理研究所研究员王跃思告诉《经济参考报》记者，机动车尾气排放是北京PM 2.5(粒径在2.5微米以下的细颗粒物)的最大来源，约为四分之一。北京，这座产业结构、能源结构在全国遥遥领先的“首善之都”，一方面屡屡强调自己对于来自河北、山西的跨界大气污染“管不了”，一方面在治理尾气时因瞻前顾后寸步难行。

柴油车“国四”标准实施在即 排放升级须监管从严
2013年07月16日 08:33:55
来源： 中国证券报
0
【字号：大 中 小】【打印】
【纠错】
　　我国乘用车国四排放标准实施以来，至今已有三年多时间，由于标准实施过程中执行不够严格，实施效果不尽如人意。当前，北京等地已实施“京五”排放标准，重型柴油车“国四”排放标准实施在即，只有全方位全环节的从严监管，才能保证排放标准切实执行，汽车工业的节能减排才能真正实现。

　　今年以来，包括北京在内的我国多个城市连续遭遇雾霾天气，空气质量出现持续严重超标。有研究认为，汽车尾气贡献了三成左右的PM2.5，行业节能减排日益紧迫。

　　实际上，近几年我国机动车排放标准的升级速度很快。轻型汽车排放标准方面，自2001年开始实施国一，2004年实施国二，2007年实施国三，2010年实施国四。我国用10年时间走完欧洲50年排放推进历程，逐步与发达国家排放标准接轨。重型柴油车排放标准方面，不满足国四排放标准的新产品从今年7月1日起不能上公告。

　　其中，北京等大城市的机动车排放标准的升级速度又早于国家标准。自1999年实施“京一”排放标准，今年北京已经开始实施“京五”机动车排放标准。据悉，实施“京五”排放标准后，轻型汽油车、重型柴油车单车氮氧化物排放与“京四”相比均将下降40%左右。

　　尽管排放标准升级速度不慢，但是城市机动车尾气污染依然严重。业内人士认为，造成这种现象的原因除了日益增长的机动车数量，还有排放标准的实施情况并不乐观。

　　业内人士表示：“一般情况下，汽车行驶里程达到7、8万公里就应该更换尾气后处理系统，才能保障排放达标。”然而，有开了二十多年车的车主表示，基本没有去维修过尾气后处理系统。“新购买的车一般能够符合排放标准，老旧车基本上在年检时稍微花点钱就能通过年检，没有人愿意再多花钱去维护更新尾气后处理系统。”尾气后处理系统制造商也表示，公司的业务主要是为汽车厂商配套，汽车维修市场对该产品基本没有需求。

　　管中窥豹，小小的汽车尾气系统维修市场的缺失，反映出排放标准执行情况并不尽如人意。如果这种情况延续下去，排放标准的升级就形同虚设，汽车工业的节能减排效果也大打折扣。

　　此外，在重型柴油车国三实施过程中，除了存在上述问题，还存在着油品质量尚未达标的问题。“国三柴油应该满足含硫量不超过250PPM，不过部分地方炼油厂油品质量较差，有的含硫量甚至达到1000PPM。国三油品尚未在全国范围内达标，国四排放标准的全国范围实施更存在困难。”业内人士坦言。

　　排放标准升级需要车企、零部件制造商、油企等多方配合，涉及各方产品是否达标需要地方政府的持续监督。随着国家加大对各地PM2.5等环境指标的考核力度，将促使各地更有动力严格实施排放标准。节能减排效果的保障，需要在后续车辆的使用过程中持续发力。

Landmark medical study offers first statistical link between pollution and rising cancer deaths - SCMP - Li Jing
Landmark three-decade medical study establishes first comprehensive statistical proof linking rising malignancies and pollution on mainland

In Shenqiu county, Henan, the mortality rate from liver cancer increased more than fivefold between 1973 and 2006, according to the joint study by the Chinese Centre for Disease Control and Prevention, the Chinese Academy of Sciences, and the Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences.

Shell deepens Chinese shale reach with Hunan tie-up
Li Xin and Colin Shek 12 July 2013 | 15:22 GMT
Map showing the five blocks in northwest Hunan, which were put up for auction last year.Five blocks in northwest Hunan, which were put up for auction last year.
Shell will team up with two local state-owned companies in Hunan – one of which won rights for a shale gas block in the central province last year – to explore shale gas opportunities, a Shell China official said on Thursday.

The pact, although non-binding, marks Shell’s second major foray into China’s fledgling shale gas sector and could help kick-start the country’s slow-moving unconventionals industry.

The super-major signed a production sharing contract (PSC) for the Fushun-Yongchuan Block with state-owned China National Petroleum Corp. (CNPC) earlier in 2012.

Villagers angry at losing Jiangmen uranium plant deal
Residents who stood to gain from relocation, compensation for processing plant project angry that protesters in Jiangmen won the day Sunday, 14 July, 2013, 6:17am
Minnie Chan in Jiangmen
Far from the jubilant crowds in downtown Jiangmen, the decision to cancel a proposed uranium-processing plant was met with dismay in the remote farming village of Lianzhu.

Villagers there, who were slated to be compensated and relocated to make way for the 37 billion yuan (HK$46.4 billion) facility, suddenly found their hopes for a better life dashed.

"I can't believe that we have had nothing again," one elderly villager told the Sunday Morning Post yesterday. "I almost got all the [relocation] money, but now we have to hand all of it back."


惠誉：中石油将成天然气价改最大受益者
Fitch Ratings on the impacts of the natural gas price increase . . . headline says CNPC natural gas division will be largest beneficiary but the story contains than that.
Right now doesn't affect residential users will eventually be adjusted. Distributors should be able to pass along the 15% cost increase, the first since 2010, to 80% of customers.

根据国家发改委通知，自2013年7月10日起，将调整非居民用天然气门站价格，居民天然气价格不作调整。调整后，全国平均门站价格将上涨15%左右，由每立方米1.69元提高到每立方米1.95元。

　　自发改委2010年最近一次上调天然气价格以来，价格较高的天然气进口量上升导致国内平均天然气成本大幅上升。即使将2013年较高的进口量考虑在内，发改委宣布天然气价格的上调仍将帮助中石油集团降低其在中游天然气运营业务中的损失。发改委此次仅调整门站价格而非之前的井口价格，能更好地涵盖从不同的来源购买的天然气。

　　对城市燃气分销商而言，天然气价格分为以2012年作为基数的存量气和增量气价格。增量气门站价格按燃料油、液化气等可替代能源价格的85%确定，与2011年12月以来广西和广东的试点机制类似，不过上涨幅度将更高。

China Raises Natural Gas Prices, Still Searching for More Supply
by: Tim Daiss Posted date: July 09, 2013 In: China, Featured Articles
China Raises Natural Gas Prices, Still Searching for More Supply
On July 10 China will increase the price of natural gas for non-residential use, the country’s top economic planner, the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC), announced on Friday.

Xinhua, quoting the NDRC, said that the average price of non-residential natural gas will rise from 1.69 yuan ($0.27) to 1.95 yuan ($.032) per cubic meter. The commission said the change was made in accordance with market mechanisms and reflects the true supply and demand situation.

Even with the adjustment, prices will be well below what China pays for supplies from abroad. Platts said the price of liquefied natural gas (LNG) for July delivery to Asia was $14.49 per million British thermal units (Btu), or roughly $0.54 per cubic meter.  That’s a price differential of $0.22 per cubic meter.

And, it’s the price differential that has caused so many problems for China’s state-owned national oil companies (NOCs), which claim that low profit margins at home forces them to turn to more lucrative exports to make up profit loses.

The NDRC said that although low prices will promote natural-gas consumption in the short term, it will hurt the supply of natural gas in the long term. Not only did the NDRC not adjust residential prices, it said it would take steps to help some sectors of the economy bear the higher burden.

Electronic Waste-Moving Mountains Written by China Water Risk  July 11, 2013
This review covers the extent of China's electronic waste & her attempts at finding solutions
Highlights
-20-50 million metric tons of electronic waste generated annually; fastest growing waste stream & highly toxic
-70% global electronic waste is dumped in China; potential reputation risk issue for brands
-China moves to tackle issue: pilot buy-back programme results in ~50 million appliances safely recycled -

Groundwater Crackdown – Hope Springs Written by Ying Shen and Debra Tan July 11, 2013
The economy slows down but the Chinese government moves to speed up groundwater crackdown
Highlights
-MEP's company blacklists represent an unprecedented level of information released and increased transparency
-Cross government department collaboration on groundwater pricing monitoring & enforcement
-But proposed law change could be set back; regardless, more spending is need & pollution penalties may rise

国家能源委首次交接 李克强出任主任
Li Keqiang and Zhang Gaoli take the top two spots in the National Energy Committee. First changes to committee makeup since 2010 establishment. Committee's responsibilities not expected to change . . . although given the overlap with the the Energy Bureau the responsibilities are still unclear.

国家能源委员会(下称“国家能源委”)自2010年成立后首次进行人员调整。昨日，中国政府网消息称，国务院总理李克强出任国家能源委主任，副总理张高丽任副主任。

调整后的国家能源委委员共20人，与上届相比减少1人，主要是原国家电监会与国家能源局重组后，少了电监会的1个名额。其中，安全部部长、环保部部长、水利部部长为上届委员留任，其余均是新人。

天然气加气要多排半个小时队 青岛暂未涨价]
Qingdao has lots of taxis that use natural gas and time to refill is taking longing due to the recent increase in non-residential natural gas prices . . .
“最近加气怎么这么难？平时最多半个小时加完了，最近这段时间没一两个小时加不上气”。14日上午，的哥衣先生打电话抱怨，最近加气难，常常需要排很长时间才能加上气。记者了解到，这与国家出台政策调整非民用天然气价格有关，但目前，岛城尚未出台涨价新规。

长沙车用天然气价格今起涨0.3元/立方米
And in Changsha prices nat gas for cars and trucks goes up 3 mao per m3.
本报长沙讯在长株潭三市，非居民用气价格与车用天然气价格都上涨了。7月14日，记者从省物价局获悉，《关于调整长沙、株洲、湘潭三市非居民用气价格的通知》（下称“通知”）已于日前下发。该通知称，三市非居民用气价格统一调整为3.48元/立方米，其中株洲、湘潭市含0.03元/立方米的价格调节基金。

Energy efficiency targets may be missed, Beijing economic planners admit
Saturday, 13 July, 2013 Li Jing
China said it may miss its five-year energy efficiency targets as local governments continue to rely on energy intensive industries to boost growth, despite damage to the environment.

The National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) issued that warning in a report this week. It also admitted for the first time that energy data collected at the local level was found to be overly optimistic in comparison to national data, hindering progress.

新疆建成中国最大天然气储备库
2013年07月14日 12:37:57
来源： 新华网
China's largest natural gas storage facility going into service in Xinjiang. Allows for seasonal storage for winter. 10.7 billion cubic meters of storage.
 新华网乌鲁木齐７月１４日电（记者 赵春晖）中国规模最大的天然气储气库日前在新疆呼图壁县建成，这一大型储气设施投入使用后，可有效保障“西气”稳定东输，并可解决天山北坡经济带冬季“气短”问题。


China Oil Data Show 1H Crude Runs up 4.1% on Year WSJ By Wayne Ma
BEIJING--China processed 236.79 million metric tons of crude oil in the first half of 2013, up 4.1% from a year earlier, data from the National Bureau of Statistics showed Monday.

In June, China processed 39.6 million metric tons of crude oil, up 10.8% from the corresponding month a year earlier, the data showed.

The June crude runs, equivalent to 9.7 million barrels a day, were 5.0% higher than May's 9.24 million barrels a day, according to calculations by Dow Jones.

人民日报：公众有权知道环评底细
People's Daily journalist Wu Weizheng: The people have a right to see environmental assessments on large projects. It's the law and author seems to think it would help lessen suspicion of large projects - e.g., people's criticism and suspicion of Shen Nong Jia airport focused on lack of environmental report. Continues on to say that folks not understanding is okay; the right to see is not the the same as the the right to understand . . . and just because a project has environmental impact doesn't mean it won't be constructed. Is this related to the recent PX plant fracas and today's cancellation of the uranium plant?

2013年07月13日
来源：人民日报
任何工程都会影响环境，有影响不等于不能建。建设项目要争取公众的理解，环评公开是基础
将于今年10月竣工通航的神农架机场，因建设中削平5个山峰，引发舆论质疑。这个项目有没有环境影响报告书，是质疑的一个焦点。
一项投资10亿元的工程，怎么可能没有环评报告？人们当然希望它有。在哪里呢？当地政府过去没有公布，现在也不拿出来。一个建设项目的环评，被披上神秘面纱，不符合法律规定。


After Protest, China Cancels Plans for Uranium Plant (NYTimes) By GERRY MULLANY
One day after a rare public protest, Chinese authorities said Saturday that they were abandoning plans to construct a uranium processing plant in southeastern China, where residents raised concerns about its safety and potential environmental impact.

The decision not to proceed with the plant in Guangdong Province, less than 60 miles from Hong Kong, came after hundreds of people turned out on Friday and “took a walk” through the city of Jiangmen carrying banners showing their opposition to the proposed plant, which would have been capable of processing half the fuel needed for China’s nuclear power needs. Unsanctioned gatherings are banned in China, but participants said the police did not intervene to stop the protest.

The Jiangmen City government Web site said Saturday that the project had been “canceled,” and Southern Daily, the official newspaper of the Communist Party in Guangdong, said the decision was made “out of respect for public opinion.”

Top stories:

The Chinese govt may abandon the proposed ban on low-CV coal imports. Australia mines continue to reduce coal production. A clever study came out showing that 500 million residents of northern China have a decreased life expectancy of 5 years when compared to those in the southern part due to different patterns of coal consumption. That's 2.5 billion years.

CHINA

Liu Zhijun, China's ex-railway minister, sentenced to death for corruption

Sentence suspended for two years, but Liu will spend at least 10 years in jail as Xi Jinping's corruption crackdown bites

China's proposed low CV thermal coal import ban close to being suspended: trade Platts--4Jul2013

China's twice-revised proposal to ban some imports of lower calorific value thermal coal, predominantly from Indonesia, and some US higher-sulfur thermal coal, was close to being suspended as a pretext to being quietly dropped, according to market sources Thursday.

Reports began filtering through the Chinese coal market from traders Thursday that the government agency drafting the imports ban, the National Energy Administration, has decided to suspend its implementation of the ban, which has faced concerted opposition from Chinese power companies.

A trader at one of China's largest five power generation companies said he had read reports about the possible suspension of the imports ban and gave his interpretation of what it might mean for the market.

"Looks like it is delayed," said the trader, commenting on the proposed coal imports ban.

Air Pollution From Coal Use Cuts Lifespans in China, Study Shows (WSJ Yesterday)

Study Finds the Effect on Humans of Burning the Fuel Is Likely Worse Than Thought.

BEIJING—Air pollution from coal combustion likely cut life expectancy in parts of China by more than five years during the 1990s, a study has found, adding weight to increasing public demands for Beijing to clean up the environment.

The effects on human health from China's high levels of pollution are likely worse than experts had thought, according to a new study by researchers at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and three other universities. The report released Monday looks at life expectancy in parts of China, taking into account the amount of coal burned and government policy on coal use.

China’s coal pollution is much deadlier than anyone realized (Washington Post)

By Brad Plumer, Published: July 8, 2013 at 4:12 pm

Here’s a stunning stat: A government policy to promote coal use in Northern China may have cut the life expectancy of 500 million people by more than five years, on average.

Coal-Burning Shortens Lives in China, New Study Shows (Nat'l Geographic)

Life expectancy in northern China was 5.5 years shorter than in southern China in the 1990s, and a health risk disparity lingers today, a difference almost entirely due to heart and lung disease related to air pollution from the burning of coal, a new study shows.

China Coal Imports Seen Boosting Ship Demand as Stockpiles Fall

By Isaac Arnsdorf - Jun 26, 2013 7:31 AM GMT-0800

FChinese imports of coal to generate electricity for summer is increasing demand for shipping as its stockpiles drop, according to Commodore Research & Consultancy.

Two Capesizes and three Panamaxes were booked to carry coal to China today, compared with seven vessels during all of last week, Jeffrey Landsberg, New York-based managing director of the adviser to ship owners, said in an e-mailed report today. Stockpiles at Qinhuangdao, the country’s main coal port, fell 6 percent since the end of last week to 6.7 million tons, below the level that officials seek to maintain, Landsberg said.

Steam coal price recovery on winter stockpiling possible but temporary: trade Platts -- 8Jul2013

A slight recovery in thermal coal prices from September is possible as coal buyers in the northern hemisphere start to stockpile for winter, but the price hike is seen as temporary, market sources said Monday. "There is a very strong possibility of prices consolidating starting in September. The Chinese will start stockpiling for winter. It can help trigger a consolidation but it will be seasonal, at least. Where it goes from there, nobody knows," a Hong Kong-based broker said.

Over the last few years, Chinese thermal coal buyers typically import coal before and shortly after the October Golden Week holidays in the first week of the month, the broker said.

"This is the silver lining despite news everywhere and everyday of falling coal prices," he added.

--Cecilia Quiambao, cecilia.quiambao@platts.com --Edited by Irene Tang, irene.tang@platts.com

USA

Arch Coal to Sell Utah Mines for $435 Million Bloomberg - Sonja Elmquist - Jun 28, 2013

Arch Coal Inc. (ACI), one of the most indebted U.S. coal producers, agreed to sell three Utah mines from its most profitable division for $435 million as the company tries to cut costs amid falling coal prices.

The company will sell the Sufco, Skyline and Dugout Canyon mines and 105 million tons of reserves to closely held Bowie Resources LLC, Arch said in a statement today. Arch said it will record a $120 million pretax gain from the deal.

In Obama's War On American Coal, China's The Victor (IBD Editorial)

While our electricity prices necessarily skyrocket under the weight of the administration's regulatory assault in fossil fuels, the world's largest carbon emitter will spew even more, preferring economic growth over climate change hype.

President Obama's expansion of his war on coal to include existing coal plants may very well put the industry on the path to extinction, costing jobs and economic growth while raising energy prices, a huge tax on the American consumer. But countries like China and India are increasing their coal consumption, more than outpacing any U.S. reductions in coal use and carbon emissions.

Big Coal to Fight Obama Plan Bloomberg News 

Mining Firms Fear Impact of President's Proposals to Combat Global Warming

A Consol mine in Pennsylvania. The industry will lobby against rules it fears will further damp coal demand.

The beleaguered domestic coal industry, bracing for the possibility that no more coal-burning power plants will ever be built on U.S. soil, is teaming up with other business groups to blunt the impact of President Obama's climate-change agenda, while also shifting its business focus to exports.

US coal shares tumble as investors see no sign of turnaround

Reuters reported that Mr Dave Steinberg often feels like one of the last remaining bulls in the tumbling US coal market and even he struggles to put a happy face on the industry.

Mr Steinberg said that coal stocks have been terrible, a managing partner at Chicago based DLS Capital Management, which oversees USD 350 million in assets and owns positions in coal producers such as Peabody Energy Corporation, Arch Coal Inc and Alpha Natural Resources.

Each stock had fallen more than 40% for the year at Thursday's close, and was down at least 24% this month, to levels Mr Steinberg calls absurd. All told, Steinberg has lost more than I would like to admit.

Goldman Slashes Its Forecasts For Natural Gas Prices

...They also note coal-to-gas switching has slowed, though they argue this is bullish long-term and reflects a structural tightening shift in the demand curve.

Obama's climate change plan 'isn't a war on coal', says US energy secretary

Ernest Moniz defends strategy to cut carbon emissions, but says coal remains part of energy mix

US president, Barack Obama, announces his action plan on climate change at Georgetown University in Washington, DC. Photograph: Alex Wong/Getty Images

The US government is not waging a "war on coal" but rather expects it to still play a significant role, energy secretary Ernest Moniz said on Sunday, rejecting criticism of President Barack Obama's climate change plan.

The U.S. will stop financing coal plants abroad. That’s a huge shift. (Washington Post) By Brad Plumer, Published: June 27, 2013 

One of the more significant lines in President Obama’s climate-change speech this week got relatively scant notice. In a major policy shift, Obama said he would place sharp restrictions on U.S. government financing for new coal plants overseas.

... The announcement comes after years of federal support for coal projects 

Montana's Decker Coal Mine to lay off 75 workers (Missoulan)

Company (Ambre) unable to come up with $70M for Montana coal mine takeover

Up To 75 employees of Montana's Decker Coal Mine will be laid off from the surface mine near the Wyoming border in mid-January, managers said Friday.

A spokesman for mine operator Ambre Energy North America attributed the layoffs to "ongoing expense management activities," but offered no details. It is co-owned by Ambre-subsidiary KCP Inc. and Western Minerals LLC, a subsidiary of Cloud Peak Energy.

About 160 people work at the mine located in the coal-rich Powder River Basin, an area along the Montana-Wyoming border that produces more coal than any other region in the U.S. The mine is located in Big Horn County, although many of its workers come from the Sheridan, Wyo. area....Ambre spokesman Brian Gard said in a statement that the layoffs were unrelated to a legal dispute between the owners over whether to expand production.

Montana coal mine beset by financial problems July 06, 2013 9:40 am  •  Associated Press

More signs of problems have emerged with an Australian company's bid to take over a Montana coal mine, as court documents reveal Ambre Energy has been unable to come up with more than $70 million in cash to close on the deal.

The Decker mine near the Wyoming border is co-owned by Ambre and Wyoming-based Cloud Peak Energy. Ambre wants full ownership as part of its ambitious plans to ramp up coal exports to Asia through two West Coast ports.

Decker last year was the subject of a management quarrel between its owners that led to a lawsuit in U.S. District Court. The two sides struck a tentative deal in December - shortly before about a third of the mine's workforce was laid off - but have since asked the court to extend their settlement deadline three times.

The latest request, to push back the deadline from July 12 to Aug. 30, was granted earlier this week by U.S. Magistrate Judge Carolyn Ostby. The judge indicated that this will be the final chance for the companies to work out a deal before the lawsuit proceeds to trial in September.

Cloud Peak and Ambre said in court documents that their ability to close the sale depended on "Ambre's ongoing financing efforts to obtain cash collateral." That cash is needed to cover $70.7 million in outstanding reclamation and lease bonds for the mine that are held by Cloud Peak.

Research group raps Australian coal company interested in U.S. shipments

BILLINGS — An environmental research group says an Australian company seeking to ramp up U.S. coal shipments to Asia has financial problems that could hobble its export ambitions.

The Seattle-based Sightline Institute said Wednesday that a review of Ambre Energy's finances shows it is falling deeply into debt and faces hundreds of millions of dollars in mine-cleanup liabilities.

Ambre is seeking to expand shipping terminals in Oregon and Washington to export coal, including from recently-purchased company mines in Wyoming and Montana.

The company said in a statement that the Sightline report was biased.

Ambre says it has solid financial backing from Colorado-based Resource Capital Funds. It also has a coal supply agreement with two Korean companies and a joint venture deal with industry giant Arch Coal, Inc. for Washington's proposed Millennium port.

AUSTRALIA

Many more coal jobs to go, Anglo American CEO warns

BY:RHIANNON HOYLE From: Dow Jones June 26, 2013 11:10AM

AUSTRALIA'S coal sector is at a critical juncture, with sustained weakness in commodity prices likely to prompt further cutbacks and job losses at a time when rival exporters are intensifying competition for customers, Anglo American's chief executive said.

Anglo American Says Australia Coal Sector at Critical Juncture By Rhiannon Hoyle 

CANBERRA--Australia's coal sector is at a critical juncture, with sustained weakness in commodity prices likely to prompt further cutbacks and job losses at a time when rival exporters are intensifying competition for customers, Anglo American PLC's (AAL.LN) chief executive said Wednesday.

"The Australian coal industry is at a tipping point for future growth and will only survive if governments want the sector to invest in the country and grow," Mark Cutifani told a Minerals Council of Australia conference in Canberra.

He said Australia's coal sector was facing increasing competition from exports out of Colombia, South Africa and Indonesia.

"Now the U.S. and Canada, which were formerly high cost producers compared to Australia, have emerged as aggressive cost competitors," said Mr. Cutifani, who replaced Cynthia Carroll as Anglo American's chief executive earlier this year.

Glencore cuts production at two Australian coal mines

Thu Jun 27, 2013 5:11am EDT

* Glencore cuts 3 mln T coal output at Newlands, Oaky Creek

* Job cuts will shrink labour force at the mines 25 pct

* Output, labour cuts follow 40 pct decline in coal prices

PERTH, June 27 (Reuters) - Glencore Xstrata said on Thursday it has cut back coal production and laid off 450 workers at two of its Australian coal mines due to falling coal prices, higher costs and the strength of the Australian dollar.

The latest cuts will shave off about 3 million tonnes of coal production at Glencore's Newlands and Oaky Creek mines, according to a source familiar with the matter.

Brazilian miner Vale selling Qld coal mine

Brazilian miner Vale is selling the Degulla coal mine in Queensland's Galilee Basin.

Brazilian resources giant Vale is selling a Queensland coal mine, following retrenchments and asset writedowns across its Australian operations.

The group's Degulla mine in the Galilee Basin will become its third Australian coal asset to be put on the market, Fairfax Media reports.

Coal Giants’ Lay Offs Could be a Boon to Oversupplied Australia Monday July 1, 2013, 4:15am PDT By Charlotte McLeod - Exclusive to Coal Investing News

The big news in the coal sector last week was unfortunately not particularly positive. In a series of blows for Australia, mining giant Glencore Xstrata (LSE:GLEN) laid off 46 employees at its Ravensworth coal mine, along with another 450 from its Newlands and Oaky Creek mines, while Peabody Energy (NYSE:BTU) said it plans to eliminate about 450 contractor jobs at its operations in Queensland and New South Wales. 

Kimberley coal deposit sold to China

A mining company with plans to develop a coal project in Western Australia's north west has sold its investment to a Chinese consortium, due to the challenging market conditions.

Rey Resources wanted to develop the Kimberley coal deposit. However, low thermal coal prices convinced the company to focus on its established oil and gas prospects in the region.

The company says it sold its Duchess Paradise deposit for $21 million to Hong Kong company Crystal Yield Investments.

Coal facing a 'structural decline' BY:ANDREW BURRELL From: The Australian June 29, 2013

COLIN Barnett has delivered a downbeat outlook for Australia's two most valuable export commodities, arguing that coal is facing a long-term structural decline and warning that the iron ore industry's period of record growth has ended.

But the West Australian Premier told The Australian & Deutsche Bank Business Leaders Forum in Perth yesterday that he did not believe his state was facing a recession as some had predicted.

He said while the WA resources sector would suffer cyclical peaks and troughs, it would continue to drive growth for decades.

But Mr Barnett's gloomy outlook for commodities contrasted sharply with his upbeat assessment at the same Perth event a year ago when both coal and iron ore were trading well above present levels.

He saved his most dire warning for coal, which is produced mainly in NSW and Queensland rather than WA.

"The change in the coal price is beyond cyclical: it is a structural change," he said. "And while coal remains the world's most used fuel for power generation and other purposes, the world is making policy decisions which mean that coal usage, in my view, will progressively decline. It's a long-term structural change and that should not be dismissed as something that is purely cyclical."

Coal gloom as Glencore cuts 450 jobs BY:PAUL GARVEY From: The Australian June 28, 2013 12:00AM

THE drastic reversal of fortunes in the coal sector has claimed a further 450 jobs, with global mining and commodities giant Glencore Xstrata flagging deep cuts to its Queensland workforce, taking jobs lost from the industry this week to more than 1000.

Glencore Xstrata blamed lower coal prices, higher costs and the strong Australian dollar for the decision to scale back operations at its Newlands and Oaky Creek mines. About 300 employees will be sacked at Newlands while 150 jobs will be lost at Oaky Creek, taking the total number of coalmining jobs lost in Australia in the past year to about 10,000.

More mining canaries croak Posted by Unconventional Economist in Australian Economy - on June 28, 2013

By Leith van Onselen

It’s been a bad few months for mining-related industries.

In early May, I noted how falling mining equipment sales could be a harbinger of a sharper than expected reduction in mining capex.

Over the remainder of May, we then witnessed a spate of mining services firms – Coffey, UGL, Worley Parsons, Transfield Services, and Boart Longyear lower their earnings guidance and/or cut jobs amid slowing mining activity.

Now, heavy machinery dealer, WesTrac, which supplies Caterpillar machinery such as bulldozers and trucks to miners and builders, has today announced that it will cut 350 jobs – roughly 10% of its workforce – amid “challenging market conditions”.

INDIA

India to Eclipse China as World’s Coal Power, Buoying BHP (Bloomberg)

India is burning coal in power plants at the fastest pace in 31 years.

At the same time, domestic supplies of natural gas that are the main alternative are falling at the quickest rate in Asia, data from 2012 compiled by BP Plc (BP/) show. Both trends run counter to those in most major economies and give India clout over global coal prices.

India’s growing appetite for imported coal should benefit suppliers in the $69 billion global coal trade such as BHP Billiton Ltd. and Indonesia’s PT 

INDONESIA, JAPAN, MONGOLIA, Freight Rates, Entertainment, pension and other self-indulgent news

Japan faces strong resistance to accelerated sub-bituminous coal imports

Manila (Platts)--13Jun2013/617 am EDT/1017 GMT

Environmental concerns and technology issues will be the main stumbling blocks for power utilities in Japan to accelerate their imports of sub-bituminous coal, industry sources said Thursday.

Market players were stirred by an announcement this month by a representative of Chubu Electric Trading that Chubu Electric is trial burning low calorific value coal at the Hekinan power station.

Toshimi Tsuchiya, director of Chubu Energy Trading (CET) Singapore, has said Chubu is trial burning thermal coal with a calorific value of 5,000 kcal/kg net-as-received for Hekinan to cut on fossil fuel costs, which soared with the shutdown of a majority of Japan's nuclear power plants.

However, coal procurement executives of two Japanese power utilities (JPUs) told Platts that electric companies are facing limitations despite their desire to increase the importation of sub-bituminous coals from Indonesia and the US. 

Indonesia govt plan to increase coal mining royalty ill timed

The Jakarta Post reported that with the government planning to increase royalty demands imposed on miners under mining permits to 13.5% of net sales next year, industry players deem the proposal untimely given the declining coal prices.

Panamax coal freight rates fall as South American grain activity eases Platts--5Jul2013

Panamax coal freight rates on established routes from South Africa's Richards Bay and Indonesia to India ended the week lower on Friday as fixture activity eased, sources said.

....Vessels open in South China have been steadier, with reasonable Indonesian coal volumes and collective owners' preference for long duration trips in anticipation of slow summer period have kept discount rates at bay, broker Braemar Seascope said in its weekly note.

..."The Pacific market has been mixed with North China positions struggling due to limited demand from [North Pacific] NoPac/east coast Australia," the broker added.

Mongolia to close key coal artery to China for environmental reasons Platts-- 3Jul2013

The Mongolian Ministry of Environment and Green Development has announced the closure of Tsagaan Khad, a coal customs stockyard on the Mongolian side of the border with China, citing environment damage from coal haulage, but the measure has yet to be enforced, a marketing executive at a local coal mining company told Platts Wednesday.

...The news is of greater importance for steelmaking metallurgical coal than for thermal coal, for which Mongolian January-May exports only amounted to 1 million mt.

--Julien Hall, julien.hall@platts.com,--Edwin Yeo, edwin.yeo@platts.com,--Edited by Jeremy Lovell, geetha.narayanasamy@platts.com

Pension Proposal Aims to Ease Burden on States and Cities

Orrin Hatch of Utah, the senior Republican on the Senate Finance Committee, has devised a way for states and cities to exit the pension business while still giving public workers the type of benefits they want. It involves a tax-law change that would enable governments to turn their pension plans over to life insurers.