June 18, Xinjiang Autonomous Region is on track to become China s coal center once it completes plans to develop a super-scale base for coal, electricity and coal-to-chemicals this year, Beijing Business News reported Friday.
Located in western China, Xinjiang is known as the country s coal sea , with an estimated 2.19 trillion tons of coal, or 40% of China s total coal reserves.
However, despite ever-growing domestic demand for coal, Xinjiang suffers from inadequate railway transportation capacity.
But the autonomous region has teamed up with the Ministry of Railways (MOR) to invest RMB 310 billion to extend the length of the region s railways to 12,000 km by 2020.
By that time, Xinjiang will boast an annual railway transportation capacity of over 500 million tons of coal, said MOR minister Liu Zhijun.
Meanwhile, the five domestic energy giants including China Huaneng Group and China Datang Corp., as well as another 43 domestic energy groups, are eyeing the region s huge potential for coal and electricity, as well as coal-to-chemicals opportunities.
Specifically by 2015, production capacity of coal in Zhundong area of Xinjiang will reach 136 million tons, and installed power generation capacity will reach 12 million kilowatts, said Song Zhichen, a researcher from China Investment.
Coal-to-liquids (CTL) and coal-made fertilizer production capacity will be 12 billion cubic meters and 2.4 million tons, respectively, continued Song, adding that Xinjiang will develop an integrated comprehensive base for coal, electricity and coal-to-chemicals.
According to Song, the coal-to-chemicals industry will receive enormous investments thanks to low coal prices in Zhundong.
In addition, as China is endorsing reforms for its natural gas prices, CTL projects have a promising future, giving higher profitability to the local coal chemical industry, the report said.
As coal resources in the east are shrinking, China is shifting its center of coal exploitation to western areas, including Shanxi province, Inner Mongolia and Xinjiang, the last one of which is expected to become a major supplier of domestic coal in the future.
It is estimated that by 2015, Xinjiang will have a coal output of 500 million tons, and will be in a position to export 100 million tons to other parts of the country, the report said.
Located in western China, Xinjiang is known as the country s coal sea , with an estimated 2.19 trillion tons of coal, or 40% of China s total coal reserves.
However, despite ever-growing domestic demand for coal, Xinjiang suffers from inadequate railway transportation capacity.
But the autonomous region has teamed up with the Ministry of Railways (MOR) to invest RMB 310 billion to extend the length of the region s railways to 12,000 km by 2020.
By that time, Xinjiang will boast an annual railway transportation capacity of over 500 million tons of coal, said MOR minister Liu Zhijun.
Meanwhile, the five domestic energy giants including China Huaneng Group and China Datang Corp., as well as another 43 domestic energy groups, are eyeing the region s huge potential for coal and electricity, as well as coal-to-chemicals opportunities.
Specifically by 2015, production capacity of coal in Zhundong area of Xinjiang will reach 136 million tons, and installed power generation capacity will reach 12 million kilowatts, said Song Zhichen, a researcher from China Investment.
Coal-to-liquids (CTL) and coal-made fertilizer production capacity will be 12 billion cubic meters and 2.4 million tons, respectively, continued Song, adding that Xinjiang will develop an integrated comprehensive base for coal, electricity and coal-to-chemicals.
According to Song, the coal-to-chemicals industry will receive enormous investments thanks to low coal prices in Zhundong.
In addition, as China is endorsing reforms for its natural gas prices, CTL projects have a promising future, giving higher profitability to the local coal chemical industry, the report said.
As coal resources in the east are shrinking, China is shifting its center of coal exploitation to western areas, including Shanxi province, Inner Mongolia and Xinjiang, the last one of which is expected to become a major supplier of domestic coal in the future.
It is estimated that by 2015, Xinjiang will have a coal output of 500 million tons, and will be in a position to export 100 million tons to other parts of the country, the report said.
