国家发展改革委发布《关于电网企业增值税税率调整相应降低一般工商业电价的通知》，电网企业增值税税率由 16%调整为 13%后，省级电网企业含税输配电价水平降低的空间全部用于降低一般工商业电价，原则上自 2019 年 4 月 1日起执行。

近日，以中国工程院院士谢和平为代表的专家在《煤炭学报》发表了题为《煤矿地下空间容量估算及开发利用研究》的论文，提出“地下城”建设的战略构想和科研论证。

China’s oil and gas sector has been dominated by three state-owned enterprise groups – China National Petroleum Corporation (CNPC), China Petrochemical Corporation (Sinopec Group) and China National Offshore Oil Corporation (CNOOC) – for decades. The three majors, all engaging in oil and gas production, have predominant positions in different subsegments, with CNPC mainly focusing on onshore exploration and extraction, Sinopec Group excelling at refining and petrochemicals, and CNOOC in charge of offshore oil and gas assets. In response to the government’s call for SOE reform in the 1990s, the three giants established their own listed arms, restructured business units for better asset integration, and introduced market entities to participate in oil field management. The Chinese government has also encouraged independent domestic players as well as foreign companies to enter the sector.

A home to 7.5% of the world’s oil reserves and 7.1% of the global natural gas reserves, Africa is an important player in the hydrocarbon industry. The continent’s share in global oil production stood at 8.7% in 2017, slightly up from 8.4% in the previous year. Africa’s contribution to the global natural gas production was smaller, with the continent accounting for a share of 6.1% in 2017, up from 5.8% in 2016. After declining for four straight years, Africa’s crude oil production increased by 5% y/y to 8,072 mbbl/d in 2017, according to data published in the 2018 edition of BP Statistical Review of World Energy. The annual growth was the strongest among all oil producing regions and well above the global oil production increase of just 0.7% y/y. The major contributors were Nigeria and Libya, which were the only ones among Africa’s top five oil producers to register higher production than in 2016. The others witnessed a decline, mostly in line with production cuts agreed to by OPEC members. Nigeria, Africa’s largest oil producer, registered a 4.5% rise in production to 1,988 mbbl/d in 2017. Libya more than doubled oil supply to 865 mbbl/d, helping it become Africa’s fourth largest oil producer in 2017, moving Egypt to the fifth position. Tunisia experienced the steepest drop of 11.8% y/y, pumping 53 mbbl/d of crude oil in 2017. South Sudan witnessed another decline in oil production in 2017 but as the country emerged from a five-year civil war with the peace deal agreed in August 2018, prospects for the oil sector look encouraging.

Pentane is a highly volatile, colorless, and flammable liquid, which is used in petroleum spirits. Its high volatility causes rapid evaporation, which propels the presence of VOCs in the air, thereby resulting in air pollution. As a result, various governments across the world have implemented stringent regulations on its handling and usage, thus controlling its adverse effects on health and environment. It is available in three key isomeric forms—n-pentane, isopentane, and neopentane.

The coal mining industry in China has been undergoing an intense consolidation process, with many small inefficient businesses closing down, allowing the number of large coal enterprises to increase. Due to their extensive operating scale and big market shares, SOEs are the sector’s main revenue generators. In 2017, the country’s top five coal producers generated over 22% of the total revenue of the coal mining sector, up from the 15% share in 2016. The government industry reforms envisage further consolidation of China’s mining sector, which is likely to increase the M&A activity in the sector. In order to boost their profits across the value chain, coal producers are expected to further expand their presence in segments such as syngas, olefins and liquid fuels, as well as in the coal-tooil conversion.

电改带来三环节电价：2002 年国务院印发《电力体制改革方案》，将电价划分为上网电价、输电电价和配电电价、终端销售电价。上网电价由国家制定的容量电价和市场竞价产生的电量电价组成；输、配电价由政府确定定价原则；销售电价与上网电价联动。自此，正式形成了三环节电价结构，三者相互关联、相互影响。