China has massive reserves, so why can’t it meet demand for gas?
Production of the cleaner energy source has been ramped up amid pollution crackdown, but technical problems hinder efforts to meet the nation’s needs
China’s natural gas production is rising at the fastest pace in four years, but that will not be enough to meet the demand for the fuel that has been unleashed through a government programme to raise gas usage to clean the country’s polluted air.
Gas output in China rose to a record 147.4 billion cubic metres (bcm) last year, up 8.5 per cent from 2016, data from the National Bureau of Statistics showed. Gas production is forecast to climb by between 6 and 8 per cent per year through 2020, according to researchers at China National Petroleum Corp.
But China’s war against smog has spawned voracious demand for the fuel that will keep it reliant on growing imports of liquefied natural gas or piped gas. The consumption surge is a result of a government drive that started last year to switch factories and millions of homes from coal to gas to cut harmful emissions.
“The momentum of this round of gas boom that started in late 2016 will extend well through this year,” said Li Yao, chief executive at SIA Energy.
China, the world’s largest energy consumer, was the world’s sixth-largest gas producer in 2016 after rising investments over the past 20 years.