China to Overtake Japan as World's Largest Natural Gas Importer Next Year
Xu Wei
DATE:  Jul 20 2018
/ SOURCE:  Yicai
China to Overtake Japan as World's Largest Natural Gas Importer Next Year China to Overtake Japan as World's Largest Natural Gas Importer Next Year

(Yicai Global) July 20 -- China will become the world's largest natural gas importer next year amid its fast-growing demand for energy in industrial development, an independent research report shows.

China's natural gas imports will exceed the largest importer Japan next year and acquire 171 billion cubic meters annually by 2030, Shanghai Securities News reported, citing Keisuke Sadamori, director at intergovernmental organization the International Energy Agency. The report did not reveal the amount of estimated gas imports in 2019. Sadamore spoke at an industry conference held in Shanghai yesterday.

China and India took the lead as the world's fastest-growing markets for natural gas, especially liquified natural gas, said Zhang Yuqing, former head of the National Energy Administration at the conference. Last year, China surpassed South Korea to become the world's second-largest LCG importer, while Japan ranked as the biggest. The US is the world-leading gas producer and LNG exporter, supplying nearly 45 percent of the total.

"The Chinese government has clearly determined the dominant position that natural gas will have in China's modern energy system," Zhang said. Looking forward, China needs rev up the construction of gas production, supply, and marketing systems as it seeks to achieve a 10 percent share of gas in its total energy consumption by 2020, he added.

Backed by buoyant economic growth and stringent policies to rein in air pollution, China will contribute to 37 percent of the global gas consumption from last year to 2023, a figure larger than any other country, the report shows. By 2023, over half of the growth in global demand will come from emerging Asian markets such as China. In Asia, gas is used in industrial processes and to make chemical products such as fertilizers.

China must factor in a stable supply, price, as well as competition from alternative fuels to bolster its long-term vision in the gas market, said Zhang, suggesting that China should create a favorable condition to diversify its sources of energy by increasing imported pipeline gas while expanding its LNG imports to the coastal areas.

Editor: Emmi Laine

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Keywords:   LNG,Natural Gas,IEA,Energy Generation