In 2024, natural gas imports into China will increase by 8.2% to 179.1 billion cubic meters per year. This will happen due to lower world prices for LNG, as predicted by China National Petroleum Corp. The main source of increased natural gas imports will be long-term contracts. In addition, China continues to increase the capacity of specialized terminals for receiving gas volumes.
Pipeline gas imports are expected to rise by 8.2% to 72.6 billion cubic meters, driven by supplies from Russia. In 2023, this figure increased by 6.6%.
Natural gas production in China itself should grow by 4.5% to 245.8 billion cubic meters in 2024, CNPC predicts. Demand for natural gas in the country is expected to increase by 6.1% to 415.7 billion cubic meters. In 2023, this figure increased by 7.6%.