News

China oil demand hits highest in 17 mths, still doubts on strength

Source: www.chinamining.org  Citation: Reuters  Date: July 17, 2014

China`s implied oil demand rose in June to its highest level since January 2013 as crude runs hit a record high, although there were still doubts that the numbers reflected a healthy economy.
   
Analysts remain cautious about the broad economic outlook in the world`s second largest oil consumer, noting that faster-than-expected growth in the second quarter was driven more by government support than by genuine momentum.   

China consumed roughly 10.2 million barrels per day (bpd) of oil last month, according to Reuters calculations based on preliminary government data, the highest level in 17 months and up 8.4 percent from May.
   
The record-high refinery throughput in June did not convince analysts a robust recovery was under way.
   
"I don`t think that should be a cause to celebrate from an economic activity perspective," said Simon Powell, head of Asian oil and gas research for CLSA in Hong Kong.
   
"It`s China`s car owners that are keeping demand growing."
   
The strong demand for gasoline compares with weak demand for diesel, which is used in everything from power generators and factories to trains and usually has a stronger correlation to economic growth.
   
Even with the driving boom, implied oil demand in the first half of the year inched up only 0.5 percent to 9.87 million bpd from a year ago, according to Reuters calculations.
   
June oil consumption was up 2.6 percent from a year earlier, the calculations showed.
   
China`s economic growth in the second quarter quickened to 7.5 percent as a burst of government stimulus paid dividends, but analysts said Beijing will likely need to offer further support to meet its growth target for 2014.
   
IEA LOWERS FORECAST
   
The International Energy Agency (IEA) revised down this month its forecast for China`s oil demand for 2014 on lower estimates of industrial fuel use, predicting implied oil demand would rise just 3.3 percent for the year.
   
The IEA also lowered its estimate for consumption growth in diesel and heavy gas oils by 55,000 bpd.
   
"I think the implications are that the Chinese economy isn`t growing as fast as people say it is," said Powell of CLSA, adding that he expects China`s oil growth to fall short of the IEA forecast.
   
Reuters calculates implied oil demand using official refinery throughput data plus net imports of the main refined products, excluding changes in fuel stocks, which China rarely reports.
   
China`s daily crude throughput in June rose 7 percent from the previous month to a record-high 41.83 million tonnes, or 10.18 million bpd, as refineries emerged from the peak maintenance season in April and May, data from the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) showed.
   
Crude throughput was up 5.8 percent from a year ago, the statistics bureau data also showed. Analysts cite an increase in refining capacity as one reason for the growing crude runs.
   
China has begun exporting more refined fuels, but became a net fuel importer again in June.
   
Net fuel imports in June were 110,000 tonnes, or 25,667 bpd, compared to net exports of 410,000 tonnes in May and 1.29 million tonnes a year earlier, customs data showed earlier.
    
China imported 5.66 million bpd of crude oil in June, down 7.8 percent from May. Crude imports for the first half of the year rose 10.2 percent to 6.13 million bpd compared with the same period last year. 

About CHINA MINING

Since first held in 1999, the scope and influence of CHINA MINING has grown rapidly year by year.  As a global mining summit forum and exhibition, CHINA MINING Congress and Expo has become one of the world’s top mining events, and one of the world’s largest mining exploration, development and trading platforms, covering all aspects of the whole mining industry chain, including geological survey, exploration and development, mining rights trading, mining investment and financing, smelting and processing, mining techniques and equipment, mining services, etc. playing an active promotion role in creating exchange opportunities and enhancing mutual cooperation between domestic and foreign mining enterprises.

CHINA MINING Congress and Expo 2014 will be held at Meijiang Convention and Exhibition Center in Tianjin on November 20^th-23^rd, 2014. We invite you to join the event and to celebrate the 16^th anniversary of CHINA MINING with us.  For more information about CHINA MINING 2014, please visit: www.chinaminingtj.org.

WTO faults U.S. over duties on Chinese, Indian steel goods

Source: www.chinamining.org  Citation: Reuters  Date: July 16, 2014

World Trade Organisation judges said on Monday the United States broke its rules in imposing hefty duties on Chinese steel products, solar panels and a range of other goods that Washington argues enjoyed government subsidies.
   
In a similar case involving U.S. methods in deciding when foreign imports are unfairly priced, another WTO panel ruled in support of some claims by India against tariffs on steel exports from three of its major firms.
   
Trade diplomats said the two cases, both under scrutiny for nearly two years by the separate panels, reflected a widespread concern in the 160-member WTO over what many see as illegal U.S. protection of its own producers.
   
In the $7.2 billion Chinese case, the panel found that Washington had overstepped the mark in justifying the so-called countervailing duties it imposed as a response to alleged subsidies to exporting firms by China`s government.
   
Under the 1964 Marrakesh accords, which also set up the WTO, these duties can only be levied when there is clear evidence that state-owned or partially state-owned enterprises passing on the subsidies are "public bodies."
   
The panel found that Washington had produced insufficient evidence for this, and was also at fault in its calculations of the value of the subsidies to Chinese firms producing items like kitchen shelving, grass cutters and even citric acid.
   
And it told the United States it should adapt its measures to bring them into line with the WTO`s agreement on subsidies and countervailing measures, dubbed the SCM in trade jargon.
   
SOME COMFORT
   
The ruling, which gave the United States some comfort in rejecting some aspects of the Chinese complaint, was welcomed in a statement from China`s Ministry of Commerce distributed by Beijing`s trade mission in Geneva.
   
"China urges the United States to respect the WTO rulings and correct its wrongdoings of abusively using trade remedy measures, and to ensure an environment of fair competition for Chinese enterprises," the statement said.
   
The United States said it was weighing its options.
   
U.S. Trade Representative Michael Froman said the decision to reject many of China`s challenges was a victory for American businesses and workers.
   
"With respect to the other findings in the panel report, the Administration is carefully evaluating its options, and will take all appropriate steps to ensure that U.S. remedies against unfair subsidies remain strong and effective."
   
Many other members of the organisation, including the European Union and Japan, declared themselves interested parties in the disputes, although they did not say if their sympathies lay with the United States or its challengers.
   
The ruling in the Indian case - which involves steelmakers like Tata, Jindal and Essar who are supplied by the state-run iron-ore mining firm, NMDC - was not so clear-cut.
   
It said the United States had "acted inconsistently" in terms of some provisions of the SCM agreement and had unfairly reduced Indian trade revenue. Washington should bring its measures into line with the pact, the panel said.
   
But it rejected many of the technical aspects of the Indian case.
   
Froman hailed the panel ruling while recognising it as a "mixed result."
   
"The panel`s findings rejecting most of India`s numerous challenges to our laws and determinations is a significant victory for the United States and for the (U.S.) workers and businesses making these steep products," he said.

About CHINA MINING

Since first held in 1999, the scope and influence of CHINA MINING has grown rapidly year by year.  As a global mining summit forum and exhibition, CHINA MINING Congress and Expo has become one of the world’s top mining events, and one of the world’s largest mining exploration, development and trading platforms, covering all aspects of the whole mining industry chain, including geological survey, exploration and development, mining rights trading, mining investment and financing, smelting and processing, mining techniques and equipment, mining services, etc. playing an active promotion role in creating exchange opportunities and enhancing mutual cooperation between domestic and foreign mining enterprises.

CHINA MINING Congress and Expo 2014 will be held at Meijiang Convention and Exhibition Center in Tianjin on November 20^th-23^rd, 2014. We invite you to join the event and to celebrate the 16^th anniversary of CHINA MINING with us.  For more information about CHINA MINING 2014, please visit: www.chinaminingtj.org.

Chinese rare earth industry alliance to fight Japanese monopoly

Source: www.chinamining.org  Citation: ECNS  Date: July 16, 2014

A Chinese rare-earth magnet industrial alliance formed by seven firms has vowed to break a trade barrier created by a Japanese company through a patent monopoly, the Guangdong-based 21st Century Business Herald reported.
   
Neodymium-iron-boron alloy magnets are used in motors, audio speakers, headphones, cordless tools, computer hard drives and even golf ball markers. The biggest patent holder of neodymium magnets is Hitachi Metals.
   
It has obtained over 600 patents globally to create the trade barrier, according to Sun Baoyu, head of the coalition and president of Shenyang General Magnetic Co.
   
China produces 70,000 to 80,000 tons of the magnets annually, with half of the products used domestically. Only a quarter of the magnet manufacturers have patent licenses enabling the products to be sold off-shore. Sun said that without a patent license, foreign clients will not buy their products.
   
Hitachi Metals` action has severely affected China`s rare earth industry, especially for exports of China`s downstream rare earth products, Sun added.
   
Companies producing the magnets in China have sought ways to resolve the issue. Seven firms, including Shenyang General Magnetic Co., formed an industrial alliance in 2012, and they have applied for hundreds of patents in China and the US.
   
"We respect intellectual property rights," Sun said, but a former investigation showed that Hitachi`s patent will expire after July 8, 2014, which means Chinese firms will export their products to the US without patent license.
   
Sun and the other six firms will attend an international rare earth industry expo in Japan on July 23. "If Hitachi Metals forbids us from exporting on the excuse of patent infringement, we are prepared to respond with a lawsuit," he said.
   
"Once we win, we can compete fairly with Japanese firms in the global market," said Zhao Hongliang, head of another firm in the alliance.
   
In 2012, Hitachi Metals and Hitachi Metals North Carolina asked the US International Trade Commission (ITC) to stop the sales of such products that did not have US patent licenses.
   
Three Chinese companies entered into settlement agreements with Hitachi in May by paying money to gain the patent license. Another five rare earth companies had gained patent licenses from Hitachi Metals before that.

About CHINA MINING

Since first held in 1999, the scope and influence of CHINA MINING has grown rapidly year by year.  As a global mining summit forum and exhibition, CHINA MINING Congress and Expo has become one of the world’s top mining events, and one of the world’s largest mining exploration, development and trading platforms, covering all aspects of the whole mining industry chain, including geological survey, exploration and development, mining rights trading, mining investment and financing, smelting and processing, mining techniques and equipment, mining services, etc. playing an active promotion role in creating exchange opportunities and enhancing mutual cooperation between domestic and foreign mining enterprises.

CHINA MINING Congress and Expo 2014 will be held at Meijiang Convention and Exhibition Center in Tianjin on November 20^th-23^rd, 2014. We invite you to join the event and to celebrate the 16^th anniversary of CHINA MINING with us.  For more information about CHINA MINING 2014, please visit: www.chinaminingtj.org.

China to end imported steel tax policy

Source: www.chinamining.org  Citation: chinadaily.com.cn  Date: July 15, 2014

China is to cancel its tax protection policy for certain types of imported steel, according to the Ministry of Finance, General Administration of Customs and State Administration of Taxation.

From July 31, tariffs and import taxes will be imposed on 78 products the domestic market is capable of producing, such as steel wire and electrical steel.
  
For orders signed before July 31 with goods to be shipped before year`s end, trading under the policy continues.
  
The policy was introduced to help boost foreign trade and attract foreign investment. The country needs to increase the use of domestic steel, said Xie Shuangqing, an analyst at Hua`An Futures.
  
Imported steel accounts for more than 6 million tons or nearly half the total national imports. Most is hot-rolled and cold-rolled steel coil.
  
"A large number of imported steels will lose their advantages over the cancellation of the tax protection policy, making domestic steel able to compete on an equal footing," said Xu Xiangchun, chief information officer of Mysteel.com.

About CHINA MINING

Since first held in 1999, the scope and influence of CHINA MINING has grown rapidly year by year.  As a global mining summit forum and exhibition, CHINA MINING Congress and Expo has become one of the world’s top mining events, and one of the world’s largest mining exploration, development and trading platforms, covering all aspects of the whole mining industry chain, including geological survey, exploration and development, mining rights trading, mining investment and financing, smelting and processing, mining techniques and equipment, mining services, etc. playing an active promotion role in creating exchange opportunities and enhancing mutual cooperation between domestic and foreign mining enterprises.

CHINA MINING Congress and Expo 2014 will be held at Meijiang Convention and Exhibition Center in Tianjin on November 20^th-23^rd, 2014. We invite you to join the event and to celebrate the 16^th anniversary of CHINA MINING with us.  For more information about CHINA MINING 2014, please visit: www.chinaminingtj.org.

Chinese steel industry makes big losses in first quarter of 2014

Source: www.chinamining.org  Citation: Reuters  Date: Jun.23, 2014

Global crude steel production rose at an annual 2.2 percent rate in May as output in China hit new record levels and North American and European mills cranked up production, industry data showed, pressuring prices the world over.
   
Global crude steel output hit 141 million tons in May, nearing the record seen in March. The increase was driven by an annual 2.6 percent growth in China`s output to 70.4 million tons, data from the World Steel Association showed over the weekend.
   
Global steel prices are at their lowest levels since August and not far off the lowest in three and a half years reached last June. The price falls have come despite an increase in demand in Western economies.
   
"Growth in steel output is exceeding growth in demand and is adding to the global surplus," said MEPS analyst Jeremy Platts.
   
"Steel prices are going to fall on a year-on-year basis. Raw material costs like iron ore are coming down, but that`s not the whole story; the excess supply is a pressure. China`s exports are soaring," he noted.
   
According to China`s General Administration of Customs, Chinese exports of steel, including stainless, hit 8.07 million tons in May, the highest ever level and an annual increase of 41.5 percent in the year to date.
   
However, steel production in North China`s Hebei Province fell 3 percent in May from a year ago, compared to a 2.6 percent increase nationwide, with the top steel-making province bearing the brunt of a campaign to shut down polluting industrial capacity.
   
Hebei was home to seven of China`s 10 smoggiest cities in 2013, according to official air quality data, and has been under heavy pressure to clean up its economy and ease its dependence on polluting industries like steel and cement.
   
Hebei produced 16.36 million tons of steel in May, up 1.1 percent compared to April, but its share of the total fell to 23.2 percent from 23.5 percent in the previous month, according to data from the National Bureau of Statistics.
   
Over the first five months of the year, Hebei produced 82.95 million tons of steel, 24.2 percent of the total of 2013.
   
The pressure on steel makers` margins is being mitigated, however, by a 32 percent fall in iron ore prices this year, outpacing the fall in steel prices.
   
Output in Europe, the second-largest steel-producing region after China, grew by 2.7 percent to 15.04 million tons, while output in North America grew 3.3 percent to 10.22 million tons, the World Steel Association data showed.
   
The fast industrializing Middle East rose 7.3 percent to 2.4 million tons, the data showed.

About CHINA MINING

Since first held in 1999, the scope and influence of CHINA MINING has grown rapidly year by year.  As a global mining summit forum and exhibition, CHINA MINING Congress and Expo has become one of the world’s top mining events, and one of the world’s largest mining exploration, development and trading platforms, covering all aspects of the whole mining industry chain, including geological survey, exploration and development, mining rights trading, mining investment and financing, smelting and processing, mining techniques and equipment, mining services, etc. playing an active promotion role in creating exchange opportunities and enhancing mutual cooperation between domestic and foreign mining enterprises.

CHINA MINING Congress and Expo 2014 will be held at Meijiang Convention and Exhibition Center in Tianjin on November 20^th-23^rd, 2014. We invite you to join the event and to celebrate the 16^th anniversary of CHINA MINING with us.  For more information about CHINA MINING 2014, please visit: www.chinaminingtj.org.

Russia to build gas pipeline to China in August

Source: www.chinamining.org  Citation: Xinhua Agency  Date: Jun. 20, 2014

Russia`s energy giant Gazprom said Wednesday it will start welding seams of its major pipeline for gas supplies to China in August.    

"We have a clear action plan. We have distributed all duties and we have set tough deadlines," Gazprom said in a statement, citing company CEO Alexei Miller.   

"Our goal is to weld Power of Siberia`s first joint as soon as August," the Itar-Tass news agency quoted Miller as saying.    

China and Russia signed the China and Russia Purchase and Sales Contract on East Route Gas Project and a memorandum on May 21, and the 30-year contract will see the east route pipeline starting providing China with 38 billion cubic meters of natural gas annually from 2018.   

Also on Wednesday, vice president of Gazprom Alexander Medvedev said the company and China National Petroleum Corporation (CNPC) have inked a 25-billion-U.S. dollar advance payment agreement for gas supply.    

He said Gazprom will also carry out further negotiations with CNPC on the gas supply of west line and the supply of liquefied natural gas (LNG) in near term.

About CHINA MINING

Since first held in 1999, the scope and influence of CHINA MINING has grown rapidly year by year.  As a global mining summit forum and exhibition, CHINA MINING Congress and Expo has become one of the world’s top mining events, and one of the world’s largest mining exploration, development and trading platforms, covering all aspects of the whole mining industry chain, including geological survey, exploration and development, mining rights trading, mining investment and financing, smelting and processing, mining techniques and equipment, mining services, etc. playing an active promotion role in creating exchange opportunities and enhancing mutual cooperation between domestic and foreign mining enterprises.

CHINA MINING Congress and Expo 2014 will be held at Meijiang Convention and Exhibition Center in Tianjin on November 20^th-23^rd, 2014. We invite you to join the event and to celebrate the 16^th anniversary of CHINA MINING with us.  For more information about CHINA MINING 2014, please visit: www.chinaminingtj.org.

Xi`s call for `energy revolution` supported

Source: www.chinamining.org  Citation: China Daily  Date: Jun.16, 2014

President says security of supplies must be raised to a higher level

Experts reacted favorably to President Xi Jinping`s call on Friday to accelerate China`s energy production and diversity and to raise energy efficiency.

They said the leadership`s resolve to seek an energy revolution will pave the way for more non-State companies to enter the industry and foster healthier competition in the sector.

Xi stressed that China must raise its energy security to a higher level as he presided over a meeting of the Central Leading Group on Financial and Economic Affairs to map out the next round of the "revolution in energy and production and consumption".

He also confirmed that more new nuclear energy projects will be launched soon in eastern coastal areas, based on higher safety standards.

Lin Boqiang, director of the China Center for Energy Economic Research at Xiamen University, said it is high time for the top leadership to launch China`s new energy initiative.

It was doing so at a time when energy imports in the United States were on the decline thanks to its shale gas development, while China`s dependence on imported oil and gas supply was still growing.

The situation is forcing China to try to safeguard its energy security, Lin said.

At Friday`s meeting, Xi said the nation will continue to reform the energy industry to create effective competition and a market-based pricing mechanism.

Han Xiaoping, chief information officer at China Energy Net Consulting Co, an industry consultancy in Beijing, said the innovative part of China`s ongoing energy revolution is to use market forces to strengthen energy security.

He said China has rich oil and gas resources "but its development still lags behind because the industry is to a great extent monopolized by just a few large corporations".

Han said he expects progress on China`s reform and opening-up to free the industry from its shackles of "vested interests".

Xi also said that to ensure energy security, China needs to build up a diverse supply structure featuring multiple domestic channels, including clean and efficient use of coal and the development of new energy resources.

Meanwhile, it should strengthen international cooperation with an open mind.

Han said China has made great efforts to diversify foreign energy supply channels in the past few years and has achieved encouraging results, including a newly signed $400 billion natural gas import deal with Russia.

The success of the agreement with Russia is closely related to China`s diversified gas production development in past years, he said.

Han also noted China`s breakthroughs in shale gas output at the Sichuan basin, and coal gas and liquified natural gas projects elsewhere in the country.

At the energy meeting, Xi also urged that more new technologies be adopted on low-carbon emissions. He pledged greater efforts to reduce energy waste and to cap the nation`s energy use.

"Energy-saving should be carried out in all processes and fields of social and economic development," Xi said.

Wang Zhaoli, general manager of Ista Measurement Technology Services (Beijing) Co, a subsidiary of the Germany-based metering company Ista, said cutting consumption is the best way to save energy and this requires widespread public education efforts.

The government needs to adopt stricter administrative measures to cut energy consumption in many areas, such as heating systems in residential buildings, Wang said.

About CHINA MINING

Since first held in 1999, the scope and influence of CHINA MINING has grown rapidly year by year.  As a global mining summit forum and exhibition, CHINA MINING Congress and Expo has become one of the world’s top mining events, and one of the world’s largest mining exploration, development and trading platforms, covering all aspects of the whole mining industry chain, including geological survey, exploration and development, mining rights trading, mining investment and financing, smelting and processing, mining techniques and equipment, mining services, etc. playing an active promotion role in creating exchange opportunities and enhancing mutual cooperation between domestic and foreign mining enterprises.

CHINA MINING Congress and Expo 2014 will be held at Meijiang Convention and Exhibition Center in Tianjin on November 20^th-23^rd, 2014. We invite you to join the event and to celebrate the 16^th anniversary of CHINA MINING with us.  For more information about CHINA MINING 2014, please visit: www.chinaminingtj.org.

China Seen Outspending U.S. Drillers to Chase Shale-Gas Boom

Source: www.chinamining.org  Citation: Bloomberg  Date: May.30, 2014

China`s effort to catch up with the U.S. in developing shale gas and become more energy independent is coming at a big cost: It`s spending four times as much developing some fields, according to a new report.
   
Holding the world`s biggest potential reserves of natural gas in shale rock, China will spend billions of dollars in trying to close a gap with the shale leader, which is about a decade ahead in developing the energy resource, according to a study by Bloomberg New Energy Finance released yesterday.
   
The emergence of shale projects in Asia and Europe affects global gas and oil prices and is changing the energy agendas of governments from London to Beijing. In China, leaders mandated national targets for their producers such as state-owned China Petroleum & Chemical Corp. (386), known as Sinopec.
   
"For the government, shale is one of the highest priorities, and Sinopec is looking to distinguish itself by making gains in shale," Xiaolei Cao, an analyst at Bloomberg New Energy Finance, said in an interview.
   
Sinopec`s estimate that it will spend an average of $10 million per well at its Fuling site compares with costs as low as $2.6 million a well in parts of the U.S., BNEF said.
   
The chasm will narrow going forward. Sinopec`s drilling costs will fall as it ramps up production to meet the government`s target of 6.5 billion cubic meters a year by 2015. Analysts say that goal is increasingly within reach after massive investments by China and overcoming technological hurdles.
   
Cost Reductions
   
"By reducing costs, Sinopec will be able to produce more gas and those economies of scale will further bring down its expenditure," Cao said.
   
In contrast to China`s target of 6.5 billion cubic meters, the U.S. produced almost 300 billion in 2012, the last year data is available, according to the Energy Information Administration.
   
Two calls to Lv Dapeng, Sinopec`s Beijing-based spokesman, were unanswered.
   
Sinopec has made progress reducing its costs at Fuling in the past two years, BNEF said. It could even be cheaper than a landmark $400 billion deal China signed with Russia earlier this month, depending on the amount a well produces, according to the report.
   
PetroChina Co. in 2012 produced 74 percent of the nation`s natural gas, while Sinopec`s share was about 16 percent, according to the two companies` annual reports of gas production, which was almost entirely conventional and tight gas.
   
Air Quality
   
In keeping with its goals to improve air quality, China plans to increase gas consumption to 9 percent of its total energy demand by 2017, up from 5.2 percent in 2013, and hold coal consumption to below 65 percent, according to a statement from China`s National Development and Reform Commission on May 16.
   
Beyond its 2015 target, China aims to produce between 60 billion to 100 billion cubic meters of shale gas by 2020. While next year`s goal now seems within reach, analysts say they are still skeptical about such a rapid development in shale.
   
The 2020 target "still looks quite ambitious," Charles Blanchard, head of gas research for BNEF, said in a statement. "Costs must continue to fall and greater competition, at least in the upstream, will be required."
   
China holds the world`s largest reserves at 25.08 trillion cubic meters of exploitable onshore shale gas, the country`s Land and Resources Ministry said in March 2012. The U.S. has 13.65 trillion cubic meters of technically recoverable gas from shale formations, its Energy Information Administration said in January that year.

About CHINA MINING

Since first held in 1999, the scope and influence of CHINA MINING has grown rapidly year by year.  As a global mining summit forum and exhibition, CHINA MINING Congress and Expo has become one of the world’s top mining events, and one of the world’s largest mining exploration, development and trading platforms, covering all aspects of the whole mining industry chain, including geological survey, exploration and development, mining rights trading, mining investment and financing, smelting and processing, mining techniques and equipment, mining services, etc. playing an active promotion role in creating exchange opportunities and enhancing mutual cooperation between domestic and foreign mining enterprises.

CHINA MINING Congress and Expo 2014 will be held at Meijiang Convention and Exhibition Center in Tianjin on November 20^th-23^rd, 2014. We invite you to join the event and to celebrate the 16^th anniversary of CHINA MINING with us.  For more information about CHINA MINING 2014, please visit: www.chinaminingtj.org.