The new challenges and influencing factors facing China’s modern coal chemical industry

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This post was last edited by liaifeng on 2018-8-2 at 11:04. New Challenges and Influencing Factors Facing China’s Modern Coal Chemical Industry. Author/Source: Date: 2018-04-17. Clicks: 9. At present, the development direction and framework for China’s modern coal chemical industry have been largely determined; as technology advances and demonstration projects progress, related issues will gradually be resolved, and there should be no fundamental changes in policy. 　　New Challenges and Influencing Factors Faced by China’s Modern Coal Chemical Industry 1. The development orientation of this industry has been clarified. In February 2017, the **Energy Administration issued the ‘13th Five-Year Plan for the Development of Advanced Coal Processing Industries’** ； In March, the **Commission for Development and Reform and the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology jointly issued the \"Plan for the Innovative Development and Layout of the Modern Coal Chemical Industry.\" The document states clearly that \"the moderate development of the deep processing industry for coal is not only necessary for **energy strategic technology and capacity reserves, but also an important measure to promote the clean and efficient use of coal and ensure **energy security.\" It is necessary to \"develop the deep processing industry for coal into an important part of China’s modern energy system,\" thereby further clarifying the role of this industry at a **strategic level.\" 　　2. Regional Development 　　Among the four major regions – the east, central, west, and northeast – during the 12th Five-Year Plan period, the western region experienced the fastest growth rate, followed by the central region which had a higher growth rate than the eastern region; the northeast region, on the other hand, showed declining growth. The coal chemical industry in the coal sector is mostly concentrated in the central and western regions, and it will play an important role in driving the development of the coal chemical industry there. 　　Modern coal chemical industry projects require large investments, have high added value, and involve high taxes per ton of petroleum products. Developing this industry can effectively boost regional economic development and assist coal-producing provinces in optimizing and upgrading their industrial structures. 　　3. Clean and efficient utilization of coal The modern coal chemical industry is a strategic emerging industry that promotes the clean and efficient use of coal as well as the transformation and upgrading of the coal industry; it represents an effective way to extend the coal industry chain. Coal-to-oil and coal-to-gas technologies can convert coal into high-quality, clean oil products and natural gas. Coal-to-chemicals processes enable the full conversion or utilization of elements such as carbon, hydrogen, sulfur, and oxygen present in coal; the amount of gaseous pollutants generated during these processes is much lower than that resulting from direct coal combustion, and some of the carbon can be incorporated into the final products. 　　4. Rising dependence on foreign energy sources 　China has become one of the world’s major consumers and importers of oil and natural gas. In 2016, the dependence on imported crude oil was over 60%, while the dependence on imported natural gas was 36.6%, with a trend of increasing year by year. 　　Regarding China’s current oil consumption, the capacity and production of oil produced from coal remain minimal. However, the current production is already sufficient to compensate for the reduced output of 1 or 2 large domestic oil fields. The planned production capacity by the end of the 13th Five-Year Plan is sufficient to cover the current annual reduction in oil production in China, or to almost replace the volume of oil imported through the China-Russia pipeline. 　　5. Trends in the International Energy Sector 　From the perspective of the potential impact of these trends on modern coal chemical industry, the production of shale oil and gas has become an important factor affecting the supply-demand balance in the international oil and gas market. Low-cost shale oil and gas, as well as the low-cost chemical products manufactured from it, could have a certain impact on the production of coal-based chemicals in our country ； The development of new energy transportation vehicles, such as CNG vehicles and electric vehicles, will have a significant substitutive effect on refined petroleum products.