17-03-06
China is willing to consider future oil, gas, renewable energy, and global
energy security projects with the US, the government in Beijing has reportedly
said. According to a report, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Qin Gang told in
Beijing that China "stands ready to cooperate with the US and other countries
[...] on the basis of equality and mutual benefit" in terms of energy issues.
Earlier, US Senator Dick Lugar said it was crucial for the US to increase energy
cooperation with China and India, calling Washington's energy dependence "the
albatross" of US national security.
"There is great potential for the two countries and an extensive range of areas
for co-operation," Qin said. "We must have a very active approach."
Han Xiaoping, CEO of Falcon Power, an energy consultancy in Beijing, told
that the US and China should work together on natural gas exploration, perhaps
with American companies becoming more active in China.
"Not cooperating will allow natural gas prices to stay high, causing losses for
both countries," he was quoted as saying.
In related news it was said that Russia intends to increase crude oil exports
by 25 % this year by shipping more oil to China by rail. Russian ambassador to
China, Sergei Razov, said the increase would represent more than $ 6.5 bn at
current prices.
Also, it was reported that a centre had been opened in Beijing to provide
informational support for the Year of Russia in China, a series of cultural,
economic and other events designed to promote bilateral exchanges.
Group of Eight energy ministers met in Moscow for a second day of talks on
securing global energy supplies, with Moscow and Washington pressing for a
nuclear fuel network and Europe seeking the reliable natural gas deliveries from
Russia.
"We want Russia to produce more gas and consume less," EU Energy Commissioner
Andris Piebalgs, who will take part in discussions, told. "Greater energy saving
in the country "would be advantageous for Russia, the European Union and the
international market," he said.
Europe, which depends on Russia for some 25 % of natural gas imports, is
concerned that Russia may not be producing enough gas for export and is still
edgy after Russian gas supply disruptions in January and February.
"It's important to have an agreement with the Russians on gas transit," French
Industry Minister Francois Loos said ahead of a working dinner with other
ministers that kicked off the G8 meeting.
In Brussels, European Union ministers called for a "new partnership" with
Russia to secure EU energy imports after Moscow's spat with Ukraine over natural
gas prices disrupted the block's supplies in January. European Commission
President Jose Manuel Barroso, who is set to meet Russian President Vladimir
Putin, said ahead of the visit that Europe and Russia were "energy
interdependent" and should boost cooperation.
Ministers from the G8 club of industrialised nations, made up of Britain,
Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Russia and the United States, were set to
meet Putin in the Kremlin for talks. Brazilian, Chinese, Indian and Mexican
ministers are also expected at the G8 meeting along with representatives of
international organisations, as part of Russian efforts to broaden the reach of
G8 talks under its presidency of the elite group.
Russia, which is the world's second-biggest producer of oil after Saudi
Arabia and has the world's largest reserves of natural gas, as well as being a
major nuclear power, has made energy security a central theme for the G8 this
year.
In a commentary in the Wall Street Journal in February entitled "Energy Egotism
Is a Road to Nowhere," Putin wrote that "energy redistribution guided wholly by
the priorities of a small group of the most-developed countries does not serve
the goals and purposes of global development." Global energy security "should be
based on a long-term, reliable and environmentally sustainable energy supply at
prices affordable to both the exporting countries and the consumers," he wrote.
Meanwhile, the United States plans to table discussions on building a
UN-supervised global nuclear fuel network that would allow the spread of atomic
power while impeding nuclear weapons proliferation, echoing a Russian proposal
put forward by Putin in January.
"We have a choice: we can play a risky game of catch-up in the coming decades or
we can engage the world with a new, safer and more secure approach to nuclear
energy," US Energy Secretary Samuel Bodman said ahead of the meeting. "We will
work with our international partners to develop a fuel services programme to
supply developing nations with reliable access to nuclear fuel in exchange for a
commitment to forego the development of enrichment and recycling technology," he
added.
France's Loos however poured cold water on the US proposal, saying that "this
initiative is spectacular but not at all concrete."
"This initiative does not resolve any problem linked to energy security."
Source: AFP