Diverse imports rein in LNG uptrend

Liu Manping, an expert at the China Oil and Gas Industry Think Tank Alliance, said the carbon neutrality and carbon peak targets will have a great influence on the country's economic development while making natural gas a preferred alternative in the energy mix of China.

As the fossil fuel energy resource that produces the least amount of carbon dioxide, natural gas will help ensure domestic energy supply in a system that is dominated by new energy, which is more volatile and unpredictable compared with traditional energy, Liu said.

"While natural gas is not a long-term decarburization option as it is not a zero-carbon fuel, it may play a role as a bridging fuel short- to medium-term," said Joseph Jacobelli, an energy analyst and senior adviser for Asia at Cenfura Ltd, a smart energy services company.

"For China specifically, challenges and risks with natural gas include supply security and price fluctuations," Jacobelli said.

According to a recently released China natural gas report by the National Energy Administration, sectors including industry, transportation, building and power should expand the utilization scale of natural gas in an orderly fashion, taking advantage of the fuel's high power generation efficiency and flexibility.

Gas power generation should play a key role in peak loading regulations in an energy system with the new energy resource as a dominant player, it said.

The administration expects natural gas consumption will continue growing until 2035. Natural gas consumption is expected to reach 430 to 450 billion cubic meters by 2025, and 550 to 600 billion cubic meters by 2030, it said.

Wood Mackenzie expects China, fueled by a steady demand for electricity, will surpass Japan as the world's largest LNG market in 2021.LNG accounted for 60 percent of China's gas use in 2020.