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Fukushima and Fracking: US Natural Gas Exports Can Underpin Japan’s Energy Security

The Diplomat Gabe Collins , “Can The US Solve Japan’s Energy Crisis?”,” The Diplomat, (3 October 2013). The U.S. offers Japan a stable LNG source with a much more secure physical, economic and political environment than any other Asia-focused global LNG exporter.  Japan is first in line to reap a host of strategic benefits from […]

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Tajikistan: Pamir pipedream or new Central Asian exporter to China?

Oil & Gas Journal Gabe Collins and Bo White, “Tajikistan: Pamir pipedream or new Central Asian exporter?”,” Oil & Gas Journal, Vol. 111, Issue 5, (06 May 2013). …this small impoverished country’s energy woes could become history. A recent deal that saw China National Petroleum Corp. (CNPC) and Total SA farm into Tethys Petroleum’s exploration […]

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Drilling Rig Containment: Iraq’s Postwar Oil Boom Helps Fuel U.S. Leverage Against Iran

Gabe Collins, “Drilling Rig Containment: Iraq’s Postwar Oil Boom Helps Fuel U.S. Leverage Against Iran,”,” China Oil Trader™, No. 14 (2 April 2013). Operation Iraqi Freedom is often decried for having empowered Iran. For the first several years after the 2003 war, such dire assessments seemed justified. In the decade following U.S. intervention in Iraq, […]

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Oil & Gas Bidding in Brazil and Opportunities for Foreign Investors

Special Guest Contribution Arthur Rodrigues, “Oil & Gas Bidding in Brazil and Opportunities for Foreign Investors,” China Oil Trader™, No. 11 (19 December 2012). CHINA’S OIL & GAS SECTOR FROM WELLHEAD TO CONSUMER Much is discussed about how China is investing in agriculture and mining in Brazil and South America, but little attention is paid […]

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Profitability Drives Sinopec’s African Oil Investments

Gabe Collins, “Profitability Drives Sinopec’s African Oil Investments,” China Oil Trader™, No. 10 (2 December 2012). CHINA’S OIL & GAS SECTOR FROM WELLHEAD TO CONSUMER It is important to focus on Chinese NOC’s economic motivations when analyzing their plans for overseas investment in destinations including Africa, Canada, the U.S, and elsewhere. Company managements (both commercial […]

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China’s Domestic Oil Production by Region: Winners and Losers

Quick Note #3 China’s domestic oil production growth has been driven by two regions–offshore and nearshore in the Bohai Gulf (whose production is credited to Northeast China) and by aggressive drilling by Shaanxi Yanchang Petroleum and PetroChina in Shaanxi Province (production credited to Central China).  Between 2004 and 2010, net oil production rose by 14% […]

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China’s Five Largest Oil Producing Provinces and Cities

Quick Note #2 Tianjin and Shaanxi now produce as much oil as Argentina and Malaysia, respectively. Between 2004 and 2011, China’s domestic oil production increased by 543 thousand barrels per day—roughly 16%. In 2011, China was the world’s 5th largest oil producer, pumping approximately 4 million barrels per day (Exhibit 1). Exhibit 1: China domestic […]

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Xinjiang Coal Development Set to Move Global Coal, Crude Oil, Natural Gas Markets

Quick Note #1 Xinjiang’s massive–and largely untapped–coal reserves offer China a way to continue using large volumes of coal and do so at a much lower cost than before. Xinjiang’s large and high-quality thermal coal seams often lie close to the surface and can be mined for US$25/tonne or less. This is much lower than […]

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Feeding China’s Energy Appetite, Naturally

Special Guest Contribution from Kevin Jianjun Tu and David Livingston Once bitten, twice shy. At least, that’s how it’s supposed to work. Ever since CNOOC, one of China’s “big three” national oil companies, made an ill-fated bid to take over Unocal Corporation in 2005, Sino-U.S. energy relations have been marred with mistrust. Foreign acquisitions by […]

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Shaanxi Yanchang Petroleum: The Biggest Chinese Oil Company You Probably Never Heard of

Gabe Collins, “Shaanxi Yanchang Petroleum: The Biggest Chinese Oil Company You Probably Never Heard of,” China Oil Trader™, No. 2 (30 May 2012). INSIGHTFUL AND ACTIONABLE ANALYSIS OF CHINA’S OIL & GAS SECTOR. Of China’s four largest oil companies, CNPC/PetroChina, Sinopec, and CNOOC are well known. In a sample Google search, each name garnered more […]

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