Aenert news. Energy Market & Energy Statistics
The National Bureau of Statistics of China recently released new statistics on energy production for the second quarter of 2023. Gross Domestic Product (100 million yuan) for this period amounted to 308037.6, which is 4.8% more than in the same quarter last year. This is certainly not the best result for China, especially since there are no clear signs for a more significant GDP growth. Accordingly, the growth of the global economy is also uncertain. Nevertheless, the following data for the main energy items demonstrate a steady upward trend in both production and consumption. However, this is most characteristic of imports of fossil raw materials, primarily coal. Thus, when comparing data for 2023 Q2 and 2022 Q2, we have a 17% growth for oil imports, a 16% growth for natural gas, and, finally, a 90% growth for coal imports.
China Energy Production 2023 Q2 - 2023 Q2
| Production/Q | 2022 Q2 | 2022 Q3 | 2022 Q4 | 2023 Q1 | 2023 Q2 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Production of Crude Oil (average daily output, thousand tons) | 569 | 552.7 | 553 | 583 | 581 |
| Processing Capacity of Industrial Crude Oil (average daily Processing Capacity, thousand tons) | 1765.7 | 1780.3 | 1936.7 | 2004.5 | 2023.3 |
| Production of Natural Gas (average daily output, million cubic meters) | 580 | 550 | 630 | 665 | 616.7 |
| Industrial Power Generation (Average Daily Power Generation, TWh) | 21.53 | 25.13 | 22.66 | 23.01 | 22.94 |
| Import of crude oil (average monthly, thousand tons) | 41 556 | 39 306 | 45 983 | 45 463 | 48636.7 |
| Import of natural gas (average monthly import, thousand tons) | 8 626 | 9 233 | 9 403 | 8 933 | 10 003 |
| Raw Coal Production (average monthly, million tons) | 369.98 | 376.60 | 388.03 | 383.8 | 385.67 |
| Coal Import (average monthly, million tons) | 21.0 | 28.7 | 30.8 | 33.9 | 40.0 |
Source: National Bureau of Statistics of China
It is obvious that the large-scale increase in fossil fuel imports is not only due to the growth of consumption, but also to the desire to create considerable reserves for the future. This may be due to the expectation of a significant increase in stock exchange quotations and the desire to effectively use free capital. But probably there are also other reasons, including those related to the aggravation of the international situation.
Less significant was the growth in the production of fossil raw materials, which in terms of magnitude is close to the growth of GDP. In the same comparison mode (2023 Q2 and 2022 Q2), growth for oil was 2.1%, for natural gas – 6.3%, and for coal – 4.2%. For the same time period, electricity generation increased by 6.5%.
Electricity Generation by type energy source
Source: National Bureau of Statistics of China
Probably the most significant changes in the structure of electricity generation are characteristic of hydropower, the share of which decreased by 6.6% over the year. It can be assumed that unusually heavy rains continuing in July and August in a large part of China will greatly complicate the operation of hydropower plants in the current quarter, which will lead to an even greater reduction in the share of hydropower in the total balance of electricity generation.
The share of power generation sources. Left – 2022 Q2, right – 2023 Q2
Source: National Bureau of Statistics of China
This trend was partially offset by thermal power, whose share grew by almost 5%. At the same time, wind and solar power showed a good growth trend (1.3% and 0.3%, respectively).
By the Editorial Board
