Chinese people to demand more natural gas
China's demand for natural gas will continue to soar, which will lead to increase the natural gas exports. The rise of natural gas use is the result of the government promoting natural gas as a cleaner alternative to coal.
He Lifeng, Chairman of the National Development and Reform Commission of the country, talking with journalists, said that only in the past year, people of China used 237 billion cubic meters of natural gas, which is 14 percent more than in 2016.
According to a senior official, the country's authorities first encountered such a significant increase in demand for blue fuel, and now, these factors will have to be taken into account to ensure energy security.
The head of the National Development and Reform Commission of the PRC immediately identified sources that would increase the supply of natural gas to the country – the states of Central Asia, the Asia-Pacific region and Russia, which is building a gas pipeline “Power of Siberia” to the Middle Kingdom.
To emphasize the growing role of natural gas in the energy balance of the country, He Lifeng also said that among the cities of China, Shanghai has the largest reserves of fuel, where gas reserves are for fifteen days, and Beijing, where gas reserves are for ten-day period.
When He Lifeng talked about the Central Asian countries as gas suppliers to the PRC, he, of course, had in mind Turkmenistan. After all, the main fuel for China was coal for many years, and Turkmenistan – Uzbekistan – Kazakhstan – China gas pipeline, which was launched in 2009, opened in the Middle Kingdom an era of natural gas. Since that time, the share of natural gas consumption in the country has only increased, as the people of China quickly appreciated the benefits of blue fuel before coal, including the environment enhancement of large Chinese cities, which improved with a coal refusal.
At present, Turkmenistan is the largest exporter of pipeline natural gas, which is cheaper than liquefied gas. With the construction of the fourth D branch of Turkmenistan – China gas pipeline, the annual supplies of Turkmen natural gas to the Middle Kingdom will reach 65 billion cubic meters.
