China's clean coal-to-oil likely to substitute one-third of oil output by 2020

BEIJING, Sep. 23, 2009 (Xinhua News Agency)

A recent study predicted that China's clean coal-to-oil industry is most likely to substitute 37.79 million tons and 83.52 million tons of crude oil by 2015 and 2020, respectively, accounting for 16 percent and 30 percent of China's crude production.

Jointly conducted by the China Coal Information Institution (CCII) and Centric Austria International, the study concludes that the clean coal-to-oil process should be one of China's basic strategies to secure national energy security and attain the coal industry's sustainable development.

China's clean coal for oil businesses will substitute 46.56 million tons of crude oil by 2020 in a low growth scenario, and 136.75 million tons in a high growth scenario, respectively, accounting for 18.8 percent and 40.5 percent of then national crude output.

Clean coal-to-oil refers to the substitution of fossil oil by utilizing coal based methanol, dimethyl ether, methanol to olefin/methanol to propylene, and coal liquefaction.

Li Hongjun with the CCII's International Division for Energy Safety said that in reference scenarios, by 2020, China's clean coal-to-oil industry would consume about 300 million tons of coal and emit 350 mil lion tons of carbon dioxide.

It's expected that the production capacity of China's coal liquefaction plants would top 12 million tons by 2015 and 33 million tons and 2020.

Huang Shengchu, the president of CCII, predicted that the government will unveil incentive policies and proactive capacity expansion plans somewhere between 2011 and 2015, based on the sound operation of existing demonstration coal-to-liquid plants.

Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region in Northwest China is seen as a land full of opportunities in this regard due to its enormous coal reserves, supportive policies and insufficient railway transport capacity.

Under the management of the EU-China Energy and Environment Program , the studies are aimed at exploring the best options and policy frame work to conserve oil and substitution it via clean coal technologies. (OOTC: CCTC)

The research team is winding up a report and plans to submit it to governing bodies within this coming October. (By Liu Yanan)

Source: Xinhua (September 23, 2009 - 5:50 AM EDT)