Skip to content

China to Become the World’s Largest Natural Gas Importer by 2019

Recently, the International Energy Agency (IEA) issued the “Natural Gas Market Report 2018,” which predicts that, by 2019, China will become the world’s largest natural gas importer due to the lack of domestic supply. By 2023, China’s natural gas imports will reach 171 billion cubic meters, most of which will be LNG (liquefied natural gas).

According to the Chinese Ministry of Energy, China and India have become the fastest growing countries in demand for natural gas, especially LNG. Last year, China surpassed South Korea and became the second largest importer of LNG after Japan.

The Report shows that China and emerging Asian markets are promoting global natural gas consumption. Between 2017 and 2023, China will account for 37 percent of the increase in global natural gas consumption, surpassing every other country in the world. Regarding the forecast period, the Report expects the global natural gas market to exceed 4 trillion cubic meters by 2022, while China’s demand will grow at an average annual rate of 8 percent, accounting for more than one-third of the growth in global demand.

At present, the United States is the main producer of natural gas and exporter of LNG, accounting for nearly 45 percent of global production growth and nearly three-quarters of LNG export growth.

Source: Shanghai Security News, July 20, 2018
http://news.cnstock.com/paper,2018-07-20,1029054.htm