Geology and mining of selected energy resources in China

Abstract

The article presents geological and economic characteristics of energy resources and their mining in China. Coal basins are associated with the Palaeozoic and Mesozoic fold structures connecting crystalline massifs of the Chinese Platform. In China four coal-bearing regions are delimited: the most important economically central region (Shanxi and Ordos Basin) as well as eastern, south-western and western (Xingjian). In terms of coal resources, China ranks third, and in terms of the extraction – first in the world, producing approx. 3.65 billion t a–1. In the twenty-first century Chinese mining industry has undergone restructuring involving the liquidation of small, technologically backward mines with poor safety and profitability record. The most important onshore oil and gas basins occur in Daqing, Shengli, Nanyang, Renqiu, Karamay, Dagang and Yumen, while offshore basins are in the Yellow Sea and South China Sea. In terms of crude oil consumption and import China takes the first place in the world. Natural gas plays a relatively small role in energy production. China has the largest shale gas reserves in the world (36 trillion m3) and it is intensively preparing for their extraction.