Oil and gas shortage hits China's southern manufacturing hub

[lovuian]

http://feeds.bignewsnetwork.com/redir.php?jid=604c21a9e90a3019&cat=3a8a80d6f705f8cc

Oil and gas shortage hits China's southern manufacturing hub
August 6, 2005

Beijing - Skyrocketing global oil prices and rising demand has left China's southern business metropolis of Guangzhou so short of fuel that drivers face rationing at the pump, a state newspaper reported Friday.

The capital of Guangdong province is facing a monthly shortfall of about 50,000 tonnes of refined products, the China Daily quoted Xie Zhaowei, secretary of the Guangzhou Petrol Industry Association, as saying.

As the price of crude has risen around the globe along with Chinese demand to feed an economy ticking along at 9.5 percent annual growth, domestic refineries have been caught short.

Partly to blame are the country's domestic refineries, which are reluctant to ramp up in the face of higher oil prices, said Han Xuegong, a senior analyst for China National Petroleum Corp, the nation's largest oil group.

more...
They are rationing in China!!!

[HysteryDiagnosis]

1. But hey... we'll sell 'em some Iraqi oil for 100$/barrel... no problem.

[wli]

2. "we?" You mean Halliburton, of course.

[notadmblnd]

3. and thus ends the era of cheap goods from China

bub-bye Wal-Mart:hi:

[Cobalt Violet]

7. But Wal-Mart has Cafta now.

[Gronk Groks]

4. Hey folks, this was a Communist Economy not that long ago...

...even with capitalistic reforms the impulse is still there to have the state assist the fuel supply. With their incredible trade surpluses they are quite likely to start buying supertankers full of crude instead of Treasury Bonds.

Let see...Fuel prices skyrocket, US dollar plummets.
An economic perfect storm???

[cliss]

5. Oooooh.... I smell trouble.

I read a while back that China has such a severe energy shortage that factories had to shut down for 1 day each week. They had to take turns doing this. Employees were sent home and were asked not to use any fuel.

Also, I believe there's a moratorium on air conditioner use because the country's so short of energy.

Now, I sense big trouble for the US. Here's what we should expect to see in the next few weeks:

1) China will move aggressively to sign some oil deals around the world. They'll pay a visit to Venezuela, Iran, probably Russia. Maybe even Canada (they've got a lot of oil up north!!!). Maybe even oil-rich Nigeria will get a visit.

2) Watch the US get homicidal, as China undercuts them all over the world. After all, the US is not winning any popularity contests, and oil-rich countries will probably be glad to do business with "anyone but Bush". I'm expecting serious belligerence and desperation on Washington's part.

3) This will create new dynamics in the "Energy Game". We will see new players emerge, like China, India, most certainly Iran. The dynamics that the PNAC was so terrified of has come to pass. They themselves brought it on.

Results: I expect gas prices to go up, way up. Maybe even as high as $4.00 - $5.00 per gallon. I also expect war-like tendencies to emerge in Washington.

Hugo Chavez better have video monitors turned on, 24/7.

[Massacure]

6. China is plagued by infrastructure problems though.

Even if they bought oil, they need to refine and ship it. China also doesn't have enough trains or ships to move enough coal around.

[cliss]

9. Yes, that's true.

I think their best bet is to buy oil from Venezuela. They could ship it through the Panama Canal, but the US would have a thermonuclear meltdown over it.

The only other alternative is to build a pipeline across Venezuela and ship it to Bolivia. Again, Venezuelan oil is "sour", super-high in sulfur, so they've got some problems.

Nothing like that Light, Sweet Crude from Saudi Arabia (mmmm - smack).

[BrotherBuzz]

13. China kinda, sorta, already controls the canal

Panama's Law No. 5 was passed on January 16, 1997, to confirm 25- to 50-year leases for the U.S.-built ports of Cristobal on the Atlantic end of the canal and Balboa on the Pacific end and "operation of the canal" to a Chinese Hong Kong corporation named Hutchison Whampoa, operating under the name Hutchison Port Holdings and headed by Li Ka Shing, the wealthiest Chinese individual.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Panama_Canal

[4dsc]

10. Maybe even Canada (they've got a lot of oil up north!!!)

since when?? And oil sands dont' count..

[cliss]

12. From the Canada Fact Book:

"Canada's oil production was 3.1 million barrels per day in 2004, making it the 7th largest oil producer in the world.

Canada is reported to have 178.8 BILLION barrels of proven oil reserves in 2005, second only to Saudi Arabia."

Bush, you better be nice to the Canucks!!!

[Warren Stupidity]

18. extraction costs of canadian shale oil are enormous

You have to look a bit at what the statistics on proven reserves are talking about. There are two broad kinds of oil reserves: cheap oil, and everything else. The world economy is powered by cheap oil. Cheap oil is running out and is not increasing in production capacity in proportion to the demand increase - it has peaked, and this the inexorable rise in oil prices. The adjustment to not cheap oil, the $100+/Brl kind of oil is going to be extremely painful. Heck it already is painful. We are fighting wars and experiencing economic malaise as we enter the peak oil crisis, it is only going to get worse.

[cliss]

21. Aha. Thanks for the update.

The book didn't mention this. That certainly explains a lot. It also explains why we're in Iraq.

[madrchsod]

8. you know i could fucking care less if

walmart won`t get their precious cargo on the second it is supposed to be in the stores. the chinese have big time problems with energy and it`s getting worse. they are planning the worlds largest wind farm but its several years down the road along with other technologies to meet their energy needs..
the civilized world is working on conserving energy in many different ways while this backward country demands more and more oil.

[Doremus]

11. Which backward country are you referring to?

China isn't the only one demanding more and more oil...

[Warren Stupidity]

19. and as it appears that we aren't seriously planning squat

the poster must agree that we are over in the uncivilized side of his equation.

[Psephos]

14. They are also building 20 nuclear plants...

and are finishing up the Three Gorges hydroelectric dam, an ecological disaster of Soviet Russian proportions.

Oh, and they are exempt from Kyoto, and have virtually no environmental laws on the books, so there are no scrubbers in their filthy coal and gas fired generation plants, and none to come.

Peace.

[The_Casual_Observer]

15. I hope the god damn place dissolves into chaos.

[wickerwoman]

17. Because total anarchy in the fourth largest nation on earth

with 1.3 billion people and nuclear weapons is exactly what we need right now.

:eyes:

[SoCalDem]

16. China has MONEY,,and a huge military..and a "HUGER" population

if they want/need oil, they WILL GET IT..

They are just now emerging into the modern world, and there will be no going back for them..

Things are gonna get ugly:(

[Prisoner_Number_Six]

20. Does this mean that we'll have to

do without all those "Made In China" baubles and trinkets??????

One can hope....