French oil and gas producer Total SA expects to launch more cooperations in the Chinese mainland.
It launched Journey of Harmonious Energy, a national touring energy science exhibition, in Tianjin, a port city in north China, on May 22 and last year, it launched the exhibit in Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou, in succession.
People close to it disclosed that Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou were three big traditional energy consumers in the country and Tianjin was a major energy hub of the country. And through the exhibit, it aimed to foster an understanding of the macro-energy system in China and the rest of the world and encouraged individuals, organizations as well as industries to value and use energy wisely while working together to meet energy challenges.
Bertrand la Noue, chief representative of it for the China region, said at the opening ceremony that it would see a lube plant be built in the city and the plant would be one of its biggest in the world. With a total injection of EUR 30 million, or about CNY 280 million, the plant would run into formal operation this year. It seized only about two percent share in the Chinese lube market and the plant would help it seize more share there. It would invest more in emerging markets including China as it believed that the demand for lube there would continue rising while that of those in America and Europe would drop over the coming decade.
Data from the IEA shows that China has overtaken the US to become the biggest energy consumer in the world and in 2012, it imported 271.09 million tons of crude oil, up 7.3 percent year on year, with dependence on imported crude oil rising to 56.4 percent, a record high. The US attaches more importance to the exploration and development of shale gas in a bid to reduce its demand for overseas energy.
The chief representative reiterated that it cooperated with Chinese oil and gas producers globally and expected to launch more cooperations in the Chinese mainland in the future. It had had only several large projects including the West Pacific Petrochemical Co., Ltd. Dalian (WEPEC) in the market and in each of the projects, it controlled a less than 50 percent stake. For instance, WEPEC was the first large-sized Sino-foreign petrochemical firm there and with a total investment of about USD 1.01 billion and an annual crude oil processing capacity of 10 million tons, it run into formal operation at the end of 1997. And in it, Total controlled an about 22 percent stake only.