POWER January 2016 - 52

FUELS
The Energy Industry in Xinjiang,
China: Potential, Problems, and
Solutions
The autonomous region of Xinjiang has a strategic position in China's economy,
yet several conditions limit the most effective use of its fuels. This article
provides an overview of the situation. A more detailed version, with
maps and tables, appears online with this issue under the same title.
Jinhui Duan, Shuying Wei, Ming Zeng, and Yanfang Ju
S
ince ancient times, the Xinjiang Uygur
Autonomous Region (Xinjiang) has
held a particularly important position
in China's energy strategy. Xinjiang, in the
northwest of China, accounts for one-sixth
of China's land mass. It borders on Russia,
Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tuck Kyrgyz, Pakistan,
Mongolia, India, and Afghanistan, with
a land border more than 5,600 km.
Xinjiang is not only an important energy
source for China but also connects China
with Russia and other central Asian countries.
Therefore, promoting development of the energy
industry in Xinjiang is of extremely vital
significance not only for economic and social
development of the region but also for China's
energy supply and energy security.
Energy Development Potential
Xinjiang is positioned as China's ''national
energy strategy base'' because of its rich energy
resources. Due to its superior geographical
position, energy development in Xinjiang
has a huge market. The technical level of energy
exploitation and utilization in Xinjiang
has gradually improved under relevant policy
guidance. All these circumstances position
Xinjiang's energy industry for growth.
Total reserves of natural gas, coal, and
other fossil resources in Xinjiang account for
more than 20% of China's energy reserves,
placing it in first place for fossil fuel reserves.
Xinjiang's wind power and solar energy resources
are ranked second, while its theoretical
hydropower reserves rank fourth.
Fossil. Coal, oil, and gas account for
38%, 21.5%, and 23.3% of national reserves
respectively. To give some idea of the scale
of resources, among the 60 coal fields, the
Turpan-Hami coalfield reserves alone are predicted
at more than 500 billion t.
Oil reserves in Xinjiang total 23.4 billion t,
and gas resources are roughly 13 trillion m3
,
52
accounting for 23.3% of the entire onshore
gas resources in China. Xinjiang is considered
by geologists to have the most potential of all
provinces for oil and gas exploration in China.
Renewables. Renewable energy (RE)
in Xinjiang has huge exploitation potential.
Theoretical reserves of water resources for
hydropower production are 38,178.7 MW,
or 5.6% of the national total. The quantity
that can be technically exploited is 16,564.9
MW; the quantity that can be economically
exploited is 15,670 MW.
Wind power reserves are 960,000 MW
theoretically, and 134,300 MW can be technically
exploited.
Xinjiang is rich in solar energy resources
and receives annual radiant energy of 5,430 to
6,670 MJ/m2
with about 2,550 to 3,500 hours
of sunshine per year. Xinjiang's annual radiation
intensity is 15% to 25% higher than other
parts of China with the same latitude and in
the Yangtze River region.
Current State of Energy Industry
Rich energy resources promoted development
of the energy industry in Xinjiang, and a
long-term energy development plan has been
made based on the province's unique characteristics.
However, in recent years, the trends
of a single industrial structure and a higher
proportion of coal energy utilization are rising.
Meanwhile, energy resource waste, environmental
pollution, and unconscionable use
all exist in the production process.
Coal, Oil, and Natural Gas. Coal production
in Xinjiang was, respectively, 24.35
and 143.27 million t in 2005 and 2014. From
2000 to 2014, annual oil production increased
from 18.48 million t to 27.39 million t, accounting
for 13.04% of total oil production
in China. Annual production of natural gas is
generally increasing from 10.66 billion m3
, accounting for 21.93% of
to
29.15 billion m3
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natural gas production in China and ranking
second nationwide.
By the end of 2014, prospective oil and gas
reserves were 18.5% and 11.8%, respectively.
The proportion of coal production has been
increasing yearly generally, while the proportion
of oil and gas production is declining.
Renewables. Renewable generation in Xinjiang
comes largely from hydro and wind sources.
Recently, photovoltaic (PV) solar power has
achieved rapid development
By the end of 2014 the installed capacity of
non-fossil energy was 15,690 MW, accounting
for 34.44% of total installed capacity and higher
than the 30.84% in 2013. Generation from nonfossil
sources was 25.93 billion kWh-a 4.46%
increase over 2013. Although development has
been quick, RE currently provides only a small
portion of power in Xinjiang.
Energy Industry Barriers
China attaches great importance to energy
development in Xinjiang. In May 2010, the
Central Committee and the State Council
held a forum in Beijing, putting forward the
development plan for Xinjiang. From then
on, major energy companies increased their
exploration and exploitation intensity. Although
Xinjiang has good growth opportunities,
development of the energy industry still
faces two main problems: proved reserves are
low, resulting in a high reserve-production
ratio, and the percentage of primary energy
that is exported is too high.
High Reserve-Production Ratio. As of
2014, proved coal reserves reached 307 billion
t, accounting for 14.02% of predicted
reserves of 2.19 trillion t. Even if coal production
maintains an annual growth rate of
20%, existing reserves are sufficient for more
than 100 years. The third round evaluation of
oil and gas resources in Xinjiang showed that
predicted reserves of oil and nature gas are
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POWER January 2016

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