China's natural gas consumption to keep growing before 2050: report

BEIJING -- China's natural gas consumption will maintain a growth trend before 2050, said a report released here Saturday.

The report was jointly compiled by the petroleum and natural gas department under the National Energy Administration (NEA), the institute of resources and environmental policy under the Development Research Center of the State Council, and the Strategic Research Center of Oil and Gas Resources under the Ministry of Natural Resources.

China's apparent consumption of natural gas will reach about 310 billion cubic meters in 2019, up about 10 percent over last year, according to the report.

In 2018, the country's apparent consumption of natural gas reached 280.3 billion cubic meters, up 17.5 percent year on year. The daily peak gas consumption exceeded 1 billion cubic meters, and 10 provincial-level regions each reported natural gas consumption of over 10 billion cubic meters, according to the report.

China's natural gas industry is facing strategic opportunities, said the report. From the international perspective, natural gas accounts for 23 percent of the world's energy consumption, and it still has growth potential in the future.

From the domestic perspective, the reform of oil and gas system is accelerating and steady economic and social development will drive the sustained growth of energy demand, according to the report.

Increasing the use of natural gas and promoting the development of high-quality natural gas is a strategic measure and a realistic choice for China's energy transformation and upgrading, said Li Ye, an official with the NEA.