Tarim Basin, a major natural gas source in northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, has seen vigorous development with 12 new gas wells in being put into operation in Tarim Oilfield since the beginning of the year, elevating the gas supply capability in southern Xinjiang.
These developments have seen the oilfield's average daily gas supply top 16 million cubic meters, while new infrastructure now lets this gas flow on a 4,000-kilometer pipeline that runs from Xinjiang all the way to the eastern metropolis of Shanghai, according to oilfield operators.
"We have connected the natural gas pipeline network in Southern Xinjiang with the west-east gas pipeline network by building new pipelines. Branch lines covering a wider range of counties and villages have also been built and we have set up four compressor stations to elevate gas supply capability," said Chang Guichuan, head of the transportation and marketing department of PetroChina Tarim Oilfield Branch.
New natural gas reserves have been found in Tarim Oilfield with the help of new exploratory wells. A new natural gas processing plant has been built on the Pamirs Plateau, pushing up the area's daily processing capacity from one million cubic meters to three million cubic meters.
With the establishment of Bozi natural gas processing plant in the southern parts of the Tian Shan mountains, the gas-bearing area is able to process over 30 million cubic meters of natural gas.
A total of 32 oil and gas fields have been built surrounding the Tarim basin since the country started an exploration campaign in the area 35 years ago.
The area has proven oil and gas reserves reaching 3.5 billion tonnes of oil equivalent and has a total gas output of over 400 billion cubic meters.
Oil and gas exploration and production have driven high-quality socio-economic development in Xinjiang and have also helped ensure China's energy security.
Xinjiang's Tarim Basin ramps up gas exploration
The depreciation of Japanese yen has caused an old coffee shop in Kofu City, Yamanashi Prefecture of Japan to suffer rising financial strain due to surging import costs.
The coffee shop, with a 50-year history, is facing fund squeeze. The owner, 82-year-olld Hajime Yoneyama said that the depreciation has led to increased prices for imported raw materials, particularly coffee beans sourced mainly from Brazil, Vietnam, and Colombia, resulting in a 20 percent surge in purchase costs.
"The purchase price (of coffee beans) has increased by 20 percent. I feel that the prices of vegetables and oil have also increased by at least 20 percent. Now the prices of these things continue to rise, with no sign of stopping. The expenditure situation of the store may become more severe in the future," said him.
Yoneyama said that he had to raise the prices to sustain the coffee shop's operation.
"Recently we had to raise the price. Previously, a cup of coffee cost 500 yen. It's no longer sustainable (without price increases) and now it's up to 600 yen," said the owner.
Furthermore, in an effort to cut costs, the elderly Yoneyama works with just one employee, yet the store business kept crippling. He said that a significant portion of his pension funds is used to cover store expenses and employee wages.
Locals worry that if the weak yen trend persists, the pressure on livelihoods will further intensify.
"The prices of everything are increasing, food, drink, vegetables. It would be great if there was a solution. Medical supplies are also an issue that needs to be considered. I do worry about what the future will bring," said a local resident.
"Not only are labor costs rising, but gas costs are also rising, so operators need to cut expenses, such as advertising expenses, and the work that they originally paid to hire people to do may now be borne entirely by the operators themselves," said another resident.
Japan’s time-honored coffee shop face fund squeeze due to weakening yen
