Chinese History and Statistics -- Page 19

Energy

China's economic development is aided by abundant coal, petroleum, and natural-gas reserves. Coal accounts for 80% of China's energy consumption. In 1988, China produced 970,000,000 metric tons (1,069,240,000 U.S. tons) of coal, making it the number one coal producer in the world. Coal is found in almost every province, and at least one-third of all coal produced is derived from small, locally important coal mines.

Crude-oil production has increased dramatically since the early 1960s, when petroleum was discovered at Daqing, in Heilongjiang province. In 1983, 106,070,000 metric tons (151,015,000 U.S. tons) were produced. Offshore oil fields have also been developed in the Bo Hai Gulf of the Yellow Sea and along the continental shelf as far south as Vietnam.

In 1988, China produced 543,000,000 kW h of electricity. Some 108,000,000 of this were from hydroelectric stations, although the country has tapped only 7% of its hydropower potential. Most power stations are the traditional large-supply type, but China also leads the world in the use of small power stations that supply local industries. A nuclear power plant near Shanghai with a capacity of 300,000 kW was scheduled to begin operation in 1990; another near Hong Kong, with a capacity of 1,800,000 kW, was to be completed in 1993. Plans to build a giant hydroelectric project (17,000 MW capacity) on the Sun-men Gorge of the Chang Jiang were postponed in 1989 for at environmental impact.