The country will set up a strategic coal reserve to ensure
energy security, according to a legislative amendment being
drafted.
Building a strategic coal reserve is on the top of a list of 10
articles proposed to be added to the current coal law, according to
Huang Shengchu, president of the China Coal Information Institute
(CCII) affiliated to the State Administration of Work Safety.
The amended Law on the Coal Industry will address such issues as
the number of reserve sites and the scale of the reserve, he
said.
The country has so far mapped out plans only for oil
reserves.
Of the four strategic oil reserve bases, the first two - both
located in east China's Zhejiang Province - are already operational
with a capacity of 5 million tons each.
Oil will be stored in the two other bases - one in Huangdao of
Shandong Province and another in Dalian, Liaoning Province - this
year or in the first half of next year.
The amendment to the coal law is scheduled to be submitted to
the Legislation Office of the State Council for review by the end
of this year and presented for discussion at the National People's
Congress sessions next year.
Huang, who is leading a team of the CCII's Laws Institute to
work on the amendment, said the reserve was discussed at a meeting
chaired by the Minister of the National Development and Reform
Commission Ma Kai a few weeks ago.
Wu Zhonghu, a key drafter of China's first energy law, said it
is "absolutely necessary" to amend the coal law which was
promulgated in 1996.
The issue of a coal reserve is surely worth discussing because
of the importance of energy supply to the economy, he said.
Huang said that in addition to the 10 new articles, some
existing ones will be rewritten in line with market conditions.
According to one revision, the threshold for mining license
application is raised to improve safety.
Articles on coal product processing and industry planning will
also be revised to serve the goal of sustainable development, he
added.
The country's annual coal output reached 2.3 billion tons last
year. Exports were 63 million tons; and imports, 38 million
tons.
Coal currently accounts for 70 percent of the country's energy
consumption.
(China Daily June 29, 2007)