Reducing Market Barriers Seen As Key To China's Gas Pipe Dream

摘要

China's domestic natural gas production is expected to rise from 120 Bcm to 172 Bcm in 2018. In parallel, the nation is pressing ahead with drilling for unconventional gas and expects to reach its target output of 30 Bcm in 2020. China imports gas from Turkmenistan, Kazakhstan, Australia, Qatar and Yemen, which accounted for almost one-third of its consumption in 2013, according to Bloomberg. The bulk of pipeline gas supplies come from Turkmenistan and are forecast to reach 40 Bcm annually by 2015 and 65 Bcm by 2020. Kazakhstan will export gas to China in 2015 after the completion of the Beineu-Shymkent gas pipeline. Rising domestic production of natural gas, augmented by rising supplies of liquid natural gas (LNG) by tanker and pipeline imports will support the "dash for gas" during which demand for gas will nearly double by 2019, according to the International Energy Agency (IEA). From 2018 gas supplies will be further boosted by imports from Siberia, following the agreement in May, between Russia's Gazprom and the China National Petroleum Corp. (CNPC), to supply 38 Bcm a year.