Despite the quest of the Chinese government to fast-track developing domestic shale gas reserves to underpin new gas-fired power plant projects, analysts stay sceptical.
"We remain cautious about the potential of shale gas in China," says Gavin Thompson, Principal Consultant, Asia Pacific Gas & Power at Wood Mackenzie. "The proven reserves in China are incredibly low, most of the terrain is very rough and challenging and the companies involved are inexperienced in terms of technological expertise in extracting gas," he told Gas to Power Journal by phone from Beijing today.
Steam turbines demand is expected to pick up slowly in Japan after 2014, Frost & Sullivan forecasts. The growth rate in the Asia Pacific steam turbine market contacted to 4.7% in 2012 from 50.4% in the previous year as coal-fired power plants using steam turbines were not used as a substitute for nuclear power shut-down in the wake of the Japan's Fukushima disaster, says Subha Krishnan, research analyst, Asia-Pacific Energy and Power Systems at Frost & Sullivan.