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Energy Development in Western ChinaChina is shifting its energy development focus from east to west as it undertakes massive exploration and utilization of natural gas in the western region of the country.The west, including the provinces of Shaanxi, Gansu, Sichuan, and Qinghai, the Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region and Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, is very rich in oil, gas, coal, and hydropower. The central and local governments have issued preferential policies for developing the energy industry in this region, and energy there has maintained an annual increase rate of 15 percent. Today, the energy sector accounts for about 50 percent of west China's industrial output value, according to the China Energy Research Society (CERS). The CERS experts say that optimization of industrial structure and increasing demand for energy and raw materials in the eastern region of the country has stimulated energy development in the west. Through years of development, China has developed three large natural gas production bases in the Shaanxi-Gansu-Ningxia region, the Tarim Basin, and Sichuan Province. The central part of the Shaanxi-Gansu-Ningxia region has proven gas reserves of 230 billion cu.m. and new gas-bearing structures are constantly being discovered, according to the China National Petroleum Corp (CNPC). The eastern part of Sichuan Province in southwest China has verified gas reserves of 200 billion cu.m., while natural gas reserves in the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region total 160 billion cu.m. In addition, a large gas field in northwest China's Qinghai Province has verified reserves of 50 billion cu.m. The CNPC source said that China plans to double its gas production capacity to 30 billion cu.m. by the year 2005, the majority of which will come from the Shaanxi-Gansu-Ningxia region, Sichuan Province, and Xinjiang. Also, Ningxia is developing a thermal power production base with installed capacity topping 10 million kilowatts, and Shaanxi plans to expand its coal production capacity and installed power capacity to 100 million tons and 10 million kilowatts, respectively. Priority will still be given to the terraced development of hydropower at the upper reaches of the Yellow River. Along with conventional energy development, the western region will continue to pay close attention to developing the new and renewable energy sources including geothermal and wind and solar to optimize the structure of energy consumption.
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