China presses ahead with nuclear energy, but challenges remain
Whilst the expansion of nuclear energy capacity has largely stalled in Europe, the USA and Japan, China is one of the few countries to be adding to existing capacity and has the world’s largest fleet of new plants. Total … Continue Reading ››
China-Iran energy relations after the lifting of UN sanctions
Whilst Xi Jinping’s trip to Iran in January 2016 had great diplomatic significance, the primary objective was economic, and energy will have featured prominently among the many deals signed. This should pave the way for more inward investment … Continue Reading ››
The ASEAN Power Grid (APG) was identified as a “Flagship Programme” within the ASEAN Vision 2020 as early as 1997, and was a key component of the first ASEAN Plan of Action for Energy Cooperation (APAEC) for the period 1999–2004. Progress in constructing the … Continue Reading ››
Reform of China’s oil industry at a time of low prices
Economic reform is high on the national agenda, at least according to the Third Plenary Session of the 18th Central Committee of the Communist Party of China, held more than two years ago in November 2013. Specific proposals included, among … Continue Reading ››
What might the G20 under China’s Presidency deliver for global energy governance?
Philip Andrews-Speed and Xunpeng Shi
Synopsis
The prevailing architecture of global energy governance is fragmented, uncoordinated and, failing to yield the required outcomes. This brief examines the argument that the G20 can provide a leadership role to improve the quality of global energy governance. Given that … Continue Reading ››
China watchers are always energised by the arrival of a new national leadership, and those who observe the country’s energy sector are no different. The Third Plenum of the 18th Chinese Communist Party Congress in November 2013 held out the promise of state-owned enterprise (SOE) reform and a … Continue Reading ››
China’s consumption of coal fell in 2014 for the first time in since the 1970s. The exact scale of the decline remains open to interpretation, with different sources reporting different figures on account of the difficulties in obtaining reliable statistics on coal consumption. Estimates suggest that consumption … Continue Reading ››
On 1 July 2015, I appeared on Channel NewsAsia in a news item on China’s ambitions for Asian energy markets.
A recent report published by the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences called for the creation of common energy markets in central, north-east and south-east Asia and Continue Reading ››
The last few months have seen a great deal of press speculation about Chinese government plans to reform its national oil companies (NOCs) and the NOC’s own plans to attract co-investors. It is still not clear whether the NOCs face wholesale restructuring or just incremental reforms. Either way, the … Continue Reading ››
China’s unconventional gas production: slow but steady progress
Natural gas is set to play an important role in China’s switch away from coal. Last year, gas consumption reached 185 billion cubic metres (bcm), or just over 6% of total primary energy consumption. Of this, 30% was imported, as … Continue Reading ››
International energy and resources policy, with a focus on China
China presses ahead with nuclear energy, but challenges remain
Whilst the expansion of nuclear energy capacity has largely stalled in Europe, the USA and Japan, China is one of the few countries to be adding to existing capacity and has the world’s largest fleet of new plants. Total … Continue Reading ›› 
Reform of China’s oil industry at a time of low prices
Economic reform is high on the national agenda, at least according to the Third Plenary Session of the 18th Central Committee of the Communist Party of China, held more than two years ago in November 2013. Specific proposals included, among … 
China watchers are always energised by the arrival of a new national leadership, and those who observe the country’s energy sector are no different. The Third Plenum of the 18th Chinese Communist Party Congress in November 2013 held out the promise of state-owned enterprise (SOE) reform and a … 
China’s consumption of coal fell in 2014 for the first time in since the 1970s. The exact scale of the decline remains open to interpretation, with different sources reporting different figures on account of the difficulties in obtaining reliable statistics on coal consumption. Estimates suggest that consumption … 
On 1 July 2015, I appeared on Channel NewsAsia in a news item on China’s ambitions for Asian energy markets.
A recent report published by the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences called for the creation of common energy markets in central, north-east and south-east Asia and 
China’s unconventional gas production: slow but steady progress
Natural gas is set to play an important role in China’s switch away from coal. Last year, gas consumption reached 185 billion cubic metres (bcm), or just over 6% of total primary energy consumption. Of this, 30% was imported, as …