Chinese oil companies are searching the world over for new crude oil reserves to stay ahead of the country’s ever-growing thirst for energy.
 | Coal RunPeople search for usable coal at a cinder dump site in Changzhi. China's coal supply for power generation is estimated to be 250-300 million tonnes below demand this year, which may herald more power shortages (Photo: Reuters) |
Chinese leaders seldom explain themselves, let alone their deeds. But what energy security means to them needs little explanation. Once the largest oil exporter in Asia, China became a net importer of oil in 1993. Securing oil imports for its rapidly growing economy has become a foreign policy priority.
In 2005 China, the second-biggest oil consumer in the world, used 6.6 million barrels per day while producing only 3.7 million barrels. According to the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA), China’s daily oil demand will reach 14.2 million barrels by 2025 with net imports reaching 10.9 million barrels.
The African oil rush
Unbound by the moral or ethical limits of Western governments, Chinese rulers have sent their oil managers on a buying spree throughout the world to secure oil wells yet untouched by European or U.S. companies. Even countries like Chad or Sudan, shunned by the West as undemocratic regimes, have seen an influx of Chinese investment.
 | Labourers repair electrical pylons which were damaged during snowfall on the outskirts of Pingxiang (Photo: Reuters) |
The EIA says China accounted for 40 percent of total growth in global demand for oil in the last four years. Most of that oil came from African countries like Sudan, Chad, Nigeria, Angola, Algeria, Gabon, Equatorial Guinea, and the Republic of Congo. China’s ties with war-torn Sudan, where it is allegedly paying for oil with weapons, is probably the most contentious project in Africa.
Development experts still argue whether China’s investments will benefit Africa in the long run. While there are local protests about working conditions and human rights abuses, Africa has experienced a level of economic growth unseen in decades.
An insatiable energy appetite?
While Chinese oil companies have attracted international attention, coal is the country’s true energy backbone and is likely to remain so for decades. The country meets more than 90 percent of its energy needs with domestic supplies, largely because of a coal-based economy and coal resources of about 114 billion tons – theoretically enough to remain self-sufficient for more than a century at current rates of consumption.
Eighty percent of China's electricity comes from coal, and there are plans for more than 500 new coal-fired power stations to meet the country’s growing demand for energy. Despite its huge reserves, China already suffers from insufficient coal production. According to a government report, China will be short of 250-300 million tonnes of coal for power generation in 2008, which may herald more power shortages.
Moreover, new coal power plants will produce even more carbon dioxide emissions and emit heavy air pollution in Chinese cities already plagued by smog. For China, energy security is as much about having enough energy as about how to deal with the negative effects of an abundant, but dirty source.
Read more:
Energy Security in Europe: From Russia with Love
Energy Security in Brazil: The Next Oil Boom?
Energy Security in India: Suffering from Success
Energy Security in the USA: A Declaration of Dependence
editor: Thilo Kunzemann
publishing date: May 27, 2008
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