Daily Sabah: China Becomes Focal Point for Eurasian Energy Exports

Oil and natural gas exports from Russia, Turkmenistan and Iran will converge in China, the country that wants to index its own currency, the yuan, to oil and gas prices to become a hub in Asia. China will come out on top leading the growing Asian energy market following the completion of projects in Central Asia, Russia and Turkmenistan, an expert said yesterday. With the removal of sanctions on Iran, the Russian gas export deal to China along with Central Asian and Turkmen projects, all oil and natural gas export routes will head to China, Volkan Özdemir, head of the Institute for Energy Markets and Policies (EPPEN), told Anadolu Agency. "This will make China the winner in the energy equation in Asia after 2020," Özdemir said. 

Noting that China depends heavily on coal for its energy consumption, the expert stated that the country wants to diversify its energy portfolio by increasing the use of natural gas and renewables in its energy mix. 

China's energy consumption in 2013 was 66 percent based on coal, 20 percent on oil, 8 percent on hydro-electric sources, and 5 percent on natural gas, while nuclear and other renewables had 1 percent each, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA). Additionally, the country, which is the second-biggest economy in the world, consumes around half of all coal produced globally. MORE