China puts brakes on some coal-to-gas projects

摘要

CHINA'S first coal-to-gas (CTG) project may have only come into production in December last year, but Beijing is already tightening its grip on the burgeoning sector's development. China' policymakers have pushed the development of CTG technology in recent years, which has sparked an investment boom that has seen dozens of new projects proposed across the country. Yet the government is now warning against blind development of the industry, in an apparent bid to head off the sort of overcapacity and inefficiencies that have plagued other industries such as oil refining and steel production. The National Energy Administration (NEA), an arm of the powerful National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC), has warned that some local governments are pressing ahead with projects without regard to environmental, water, technological and economic issues. As a result, China will ban small-scale CTG plants with a capacity of less than 2 billion cubic metres a year (cm/y), and will not allow new projects in provinces that are net coal importers.