Chinas Quest For Self Reliance In Oil

This project looks at how Fushun and Yumen's equipment, infrastructure and trained manpower were contributive to the People's Republic of China's (PRC) efforts in discovering and exploiting Daqing. To show the forms of continuity in the quest for self-reliance, particular attention is given to the three decades between 1931, with the annexation of Manchuria and the buildup of Fushun's oil shale facilities that would be useful for the postwar oil industry in China. Also analyzes important events in 1963, when Daqing achieved the ultimate goal of the Chinese oil industry: self-reliance. This periodization is crucial in studying the Chinese oil industry's transition through different regimes from Japanese-occupied Fushun/wartime Nationalist Yumen to the founding of the PRC oil industry, and the establishment of Daqing and oil self-reliance.

This book examines the political and conceptual metamorphosis of China's oil industry from self-reliance to internationalization. Through the empirical case study of Daqing, the premiere oilfield of the People's Republic of China (PRC) for most of the postwar period and a symbol of industrialization as well as self-reliance, key historical developmental concepts and events are analyzed. Japan's role in stimulating the development of the China's oil industry will also be highlighted as the Japanese government and its business sectors emerged as a supplier of technology and equipment to the Chinese oil industry as well as China's first major oil customer in the early internationalization phase of the PRC's oil industry.

China's two decades of rapid economic growth have fueled a demand for energy that has outstripped domestic sources of supply. China became a net oil importer in 1993, and the country's dependence on energy imports is expected to continue to grow over the next 20 years, when it is likely to import some 60 percent of its oil and at least 30 percent of its natural gas. China thus is having to abandon its traditional goal of energyself-sufficiency--brought about by a fear of strategic vulnerability--and look abroad for resources. This study looks at the measures that China is taking to achieve energy security and the motivations behind those measures. It considers China's investment in overseas oil exploration and development projects, interest in transnational oil pipelines, plans for a strategic petroleum reserve, expansion of refineries to process crude supplies from the Middle East, development of the natural gas industry, and gradual opening of onshore drilling areas to foreign oil companies. The author concludes that these activities are designed, in part, to reduce the vulnerability of China's energy supply to U.S. power. China's international oil and gas investments, however, are unlikely to bring China theenergy security it desires. China is likely to remain reliant on U.S. protection of the sea-lanes that bring the country most of its energy imports.

"During the past several years, China experienced an economic explosion that has triggered a frantic scramble for natural resources to sustain its growth. Currently the world's second largest consumer of oil, only thirteen years ago China did not import any oil at all. In 2004, oil imports to China are said to have increased by 37 percent, which contributed to soaring oil prices around the world. In 2005, China consumed an average of 6.9 million barrels per day (mbd) of oil. By 2025, that amount is projected to increase to approximately 13.2 mbd. That same year China's production level is expected to be approximately 4.0 mbd, which will require the country to have a net import of at least 9.2 mbd. China had managed to be self-sufficient until 1993, meeting all its internal consumer oil needs for the previous five decades due to the discovery of massive oil reserves at the Daqing oil fields in the far north of the country during the 1950s. With the increase in oil consumption, the Daqing oil fields can no longer be relied upon to fully sustain the country in the years to come. With economic growth running at a rate of about nine percent per year, China is now engaged in a massive effort to reach beyond its borders and grab as much oil as possible to ensure its future economic growth. To this end China is directing much of its attention to Russia, Canada, South America, the Middle East and Africa."--Abstract.

The world’s key resources of energy, food and water, which are closely connected and interdependent on each other, are coming under increasing pressure, as a result of increasing population, development and climate change. In the case of China, following its recent economic surge, energy, food and water are already nearing the point of shortage. This book considers how China is working to avoid shortages of energy, food and water, and the effect this is having internationally. Subjects covered include domestic policy debates on China’s resource strategies, challenges for managing transboundary waters related to China, responses from various regions and countries to China’s ‘Go Out’ strategy, and China’s increasing energy links with Russia and declining agricultural trade with the United States. The book concludes by discussing in comparative perspective China’s outward resource acquisition activities and the consequent policy implications.

China's flourishing economy depends upon access to and greater use of energy resources, especially oil. Consequently, energy security has become of paramount importance to the Chinese government. China, however, perceives a reliance on international oil markets as dangerous and also considers itself vulnerable to the United States, which could conceivably restrict oil imports to China in a time of conflict. In order to enhance China's energy security, Chinese oil companies have sought to obtain oil resources throughout the world, and Beijing has cultivated closer relations with various oil-producing nations. China's heightened demand for oil and its efforts to secure access to oil resources are worrisome to the United States. Fears largely stem from the idea that increased consumption by both the United States and China will inevitably lead to fiercer competition between the two nations and result in a zero-sum game in which a gain for one country comes at the expense of the other country. Anxiety in the United States also is based upon the notion that, as China exerts greater influence around the world through its economic expansion and as it establishes closer bonds with oil-producing nations, China will undermine American interests and foreign policy objectives. Not all concerns regarding China are inflated, but many of them are. Indeed, China's rise will pose certain challenges to American influence and supremacy in some regions, and China's relationships with states that the United States would like to isolate are troublesome. It is important, however, for the United States to be selective in its criticisms of China. Unsubstantiated apprehension will lead to counter-productive policies with respect to China, which, in turn, will alienate China and render other attempts to support American interests fruitless. China's acquisitions of oil resources do not inherently contravene American energy security interests. Thus, the United States should not fret about China's pursuit of oil. The United States should continually reaffirm its professed faith in free markets, including their ability to provide energy security, and in that way allay Chinese concerns about its own vulnerability. If the United States can set aside its uneasiness about China's quest for oil, it can more effectively address Chinese actions that directly and negatively affect American interests and also recognize that opportunities for mutual gain and cooperation abound.

The Economics and Politics of China’s Energy Security Transition clarifies China’s energy and foreign policies through a comprehensive examination of energy sources, providing an insider’s unique perspective for assessing China’s energy policies. China’s historic decline in coal consumption since 2013-2014 and a plateauing of its carbon dioxide emissions have given China an unprecedented opportunity to decarbonize while growing its economy. In response to global questions about China’s institutional, administrative, and political challenges and risks, this book provides the answers that everyone is asking. Provides a rare assessment of China’s energy policies and reveals insights into the Chinese government Devotes attention to issues of global energy governance and energy sanctions Includes data and reference content suitable for researchers in economics, sustainability, energy policy, geopolitics and political science