China's March Gas Output Unchanged on Year
China’s natural gas production during March was 13.5bn m3, almost the same as the year before, the country’s statistics bureau said mid-April. Natural gas production during January-February was 26.19bn m³, a year-on-year increase of 4.9%.
Chinese explorers ramped up production as domestic gas demand surged as the government, in an effort to control air pollution, pushed households and industries to switch from coal to natural gas. Last year, China's natural gas production was 147.42bn m³, up 8.5% year-on-year, according to statistics bureau data.
Strong demand has not only resulted in higher domestic output, but gas imports have also seen a sharp surge. China imported 6.94mn metric tons of LNG equivalent in February 2018, up almost 41% year on year, according to data published March 8 by China’s customs department. China’s gas imports have been trending higher since the start of 2017. Last year, Chinese gas imports totalled 68.57mn mt LNG equivalent, up 27% year on year, with the increase most pronounced in the last quarter when it was around 40% up year on year.