Current situation and proposals for the development of natural gas industry in China

Starting from the status quo of global energy consumption,this study focused on natural gas resources,reserves,production,trade volume and trend in the global market. Through in-depth investigation into macro-policies,resource condition,construction of gas transmission and distribution,and the market requirement,this paper sums up the current situation for the development of natural gas industry in China as follows:a. the natural gas exploration has made great progress with the explored reserves has experienced a rapid growth,and eight main exploration areas have been formed all over China,including the Sichuan,Tarim,Qaidam,Songliao,Junggar basins and the East and the South China Seas; b. due to remarkable strides in natural gas exploitation,the natural gas productivity of China is forecasted to increase year by year with an average annual increment of 10 bcm from 2006 to 2015,and is expected to surpass 100 bcm in 2010,when China will rank among the world's largest countries in gas production; c. the main pipelines are in fast construction with the total length of trunk and branch lines about 30 thousand km by the end of 2007,which has covered the important gas producing zones and most provincial capitals,but the gas storage tanks are expected to follow their steps; d. domestic gas production can not meet the domestic gas consumption and so much more foreign gas resources has to be highly relied on. This paper also puts forward some proposals for accelerating the development of Chinese natural gas industry:a. exploration and development of natural gas should be strengthened up to guarantee the domestic energy supply; b. both domestic and foreign natural gas resources should be made full use of to optimize the energy consumption structure; c. overall plans and projects should be made to complete the infrastructure construction of natural gas transmission,storage and utilization,etc.; d. special agencies should be set up for the government to control and support well the natural gas industry in the way of policies,regulations,and guidance.