China’s natural gas demand is expected to grow between 6.5% and 7.7% this year to reach 420 billion to 425 billion cubic metres, the National Energy Administration said in an industry update.

The growth is slightly higher than a previous forecast by state energy giant CNPC which pegged the growth at 6.1%.

The agency also predicted China’s domestic natural gas production would reach 246 bcm in 2024, up more than 10 bcm from 2023 in another annual increase.

Natural gas imports from Russia via the Power of Siberia pipeline will grow as planned, and imports of liquefied natural gas will maintain growth, the administration added, without giving further details.

For the first half of this year, China’s gas consumption grew 8.7% on the year to reach 210.8 bcm, led by gas-fired power generation and the increasing use of LNG as truck fuel replacing more expensive diesel, the report added.
Source: Reuters (Reporting by Chen Aizhu; Editing by Andrew Heavens and Jan Harvey)