As the war in Iran disrupts global oil and chemical supplies, China’s coal-heavy energy sector is seizing an unprecedented opportunity. In the first of a two-part series, Dannie Peng visits the Changji Hui autonomous prefecture in Xinjiang – one of the country’s four major bases for large-scale, modern coal-chemical production – to see first-hand how a vast industrial ecosystem is rapidly taking shape.
A four-hour drive northeast of Urumqi, the regional capital of Xinjiang, leads to a colossal open-pit mine. There, a fleet of electric, autonomous mining trucks moves with silent, clockwork precision, self-navigating the terrain and hauling mountains of overburden to distant stockpiles.
This is one scene in a larger transformation unfolding across the Gobi Desert. In China’s far west, futuristic and green technologies are modernising coal mining and maximising the resource’s potential through chemical processing.
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The scale of the infrastructure is immense. The world’s highest-voltage power line already carries electricity from the region to eastern China, while work is under way on the country’s biggest pipeline to transport coal-derived natural gas from northern Xinjiang to developed eastern cities.
The Zhundong National Economic and Technological Development Zone sits upon coal reserves that – by weight – far surpass the oil riches of the Persian Gulf. A giant national energy and chemical hub is rapidly taking shape.
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The zone, situated on the southeastern edge of the Junggar Basin in Xinjiang’s Changji Hui autonomous prefecture, is a gargantuan undertaking. Spanning three counties and covering a planned 15,500 sq km (5,984 square miles), the zone stretches 220km (137 miles) from east to west, carving a massive industrial footprint into the arid landscape.
Comprising five mining areas, it houses China’s biggest contiguous coalfield. With estimated reserves of 390 billion tonnes – accounting for 7 per cent of the national total – it is frequently cited as being capable of sustaining China’s immense energy appetite for a century.