China in action to guarantee energy supply for winter heating

BEIJING, Nov. 19 (Xinhua) -- As chilly weather started to grip a vast part of north China, sending temperatures plunging, natural gas production and supplies have been running in full swing in the Changqing oilfield to ensure residents a warm room temperature in winter.

The oilfield, located in northwest China's Erdos basin, is China's largest oil-and-gas field that supplies natural gas to more than 40 major cities, including Beijing and Tianjin. To ensure sufficient natural gas for this year's winter heating, the oilfield planned seven months ahead to arrange the production.

Besides the Changqing oilfield, other key energy suppliers in northern regions, such as the Daqing oilfield and Tarim oilfield, have all kicked into high gear to meet the heating needs of households as winter comes.

As one of the most concerning public services for people in northern regions, winter heating always remains an important livelihood issue for Chinese authorities.

Earlier this week, a fresh move came as the country's top economic planner pledged stronger support for upstream firms to beef up natural gas production and stock to help tide over heating peaks during the winter.

The National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) said it will urge localities to stay true to related price policies to maintain relatively stable natural gas prices for households.

Noting that the grim and complex international situation has added pressure on China's energy supply during winter peaks, NDRC spokesperson Meng Wei said the country can generally secure the natural gas supply for winter heating demands this year.

Prior to this, a key meeting on winter heating and energy supply held in late October stressed efforts to steadily increase the output and storage of coal and natural gas, and keep the energy prices stable to make sure residents stay warm in winter.

Official data showed that during the first ten months of this year, the output of natural gas and coal climbed 6 percent and 10 percent year on year, respectively.

Storage of coal, a traditional key energy source for heating, at the country's power plants has been above 170 million tonnes since September, sufficiently ensuring coal demand for heating and power generation, according to the National Energy Administration.

On top of that, the country is also striving to diversify its energy mix for winter heating to accelerate the energy sector's low-carbon shift.

Eyed as a cleaner option for future energy supply, nuclear energy has been applied as an alternative energy source for heating in northern China regions. Earlier this month, a heating project of a nuclear power plant in northeast China's Liaoning Province was officially put into operation, supplying heat to nearly 20,000 local residents.

By replacing 12 coal-powered boilers, the project is expected to cut 14,100 tonnes of carbon dioxide emissions every year and effectively lower the heat emitted into the environment.