2008 Report on Chinas Natural Gas (NG) Industry

Natural gas (NG) accounts for 20%-30% of the primary energy consumption in most developed countries, among which the figures in CIS (Commonwealth of Independent States) is 55%, Canada 29%, the U.S. 26%, and Germany 21%, and even in Japan, a country very poor in oil and gas resources, is 12%. In China, however, consumption is only 3%, far lower than the world average, and even far lower than 8.8%, the Asian average, to say nothing of comparing with those in developed countries. So China's 11th "Five-Year Plan" proposed that the percentage of NG in primary energy sources should be increased by 2.5 points from 2006 through 2010, and reach 5.3% by 2010. With legislative support, China's NG industry has been growing rapidly in recent years. The output of NG in the country was 69.31bn cubic meters in 2007, up by 23.1% year-on-year, and the output is expected to reach 76bn cubic meters in 2008.

Figure: Growth Trend of NG Output in China 2001-2008

At the same time, the scope and scale of NG utilization are both promoted by the massive construction of NG pipelines and support facilities in China. The country's first west-to-east NG pipelines were already put into commercial operation at the end of 2004. In addition, China has been making more of an effort to increase NG pipelines: (1) In August 2007, the construction of the pipeline project began to send NG from Puguang NG field, Sichuan Province to Yangtze Delta. (2) The construction of the second west-to-east NG pipelines, which has the transport capacity of 30bn m3 per year and is supposed to be put into operation in 2010, started sending NG, from Middle Asia originally, from Xinjiang to the Yangtze and Zhujiang Deltas.  As truck pipelines are being completed, the consumption of NG in China would increase drastically, with the growth rate of about 20%, in line with the world average.

Data from the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) show that demand for NG would be 166bn m3 in China by 2010, up by 176% from 60bn m3, the similar figure in 2006. That is to say, the compound annual growth rate of NG demand in China from 2007 through 2010 would be 29%. Compared to consumption in other countries, there is still plenty of room for broader utilization of NG in China.