China Has Enough LNG to Combat Winter Chill, Keep Prices Stable, Top Policy Maker Says
Tang Shihua
DATE:  Jan 23 2019
/ SOURCE:  yicai
China Has Enough LNG to Combat Winter Chill, Keep Prices Stable, Top Policy Maker Says China Has Enough LNG to Combat Winter Chill, Keep Prices Stable, Top Policy Maker Says

(Yicai Global) Jan. 23 -- China has  enough liquified natural gas to get through the peak demand season of  winter, according to a government policy planner. Stable supplies  correlate with steady pricing, it added. 

The reserves of LNG are enough for winter  due to good preparation, Meng Wei, the spokesperson for the China  National Development and Reform Commission, said in a press release  yesterday. Sources are also diversifying. 

The market price for LNG has been steady  over this year, and the relationship between supply and demand has been  better than expected, the NDRC added. The average natural gas volume has  been nearly 100 million cubic meters per day. Domestic gas fields have  been running at high capacity with the daily average output increasing  by nearly 20 million cubic meters each year. 

China has actively encouraged the use of  natural gas to replace coal in recent years to reduce the worsening air  pollution. The surge in demand has led to a large shortage of natural  gas supplies between 2017 and 2018, with rising prices. This winter,  shortages have decreased, which shows that the government's measures to  tackle the issue have been effective, according to Meng. 

The NDRC and National Energy  Administration will work with relevant parties to improve the allocation  of resources, enforce safety, as well as crack down on market bullies in order to ensure a stable supply of natural gas before and during Chinese New Year, according to the macroeconomic planner. The Spring Festival falls on the second week of February this year.

The demand has already surged. The number  of days with a daily gas supply exceeding 1 billion cubic meters has  been 18 days so far this year. The highest daily supply volume was 1  billion cubic meters, which continued for two consecutive days. China's  gas consumption this winter has exceeded 60 billion cubic meters, up  more than 15 percent annually, Meng added.

Editor: Emmi Laine 

Follow Yicai Global on
Keywords:   Supply and Demand,Natural Gas,Commodity,Energy,NDRC