Chinese Gas Demand to Rise 7.3% in 2016

Demand for natural gas in China is expected to rise in 2016 mainly due to price cut initiated by the state planner.

World’s second biggest economy consumed 191 billion cubic meters (bcm) of natural gas in 2015, up only 3.7 percent on year, Xinhua Finance Agency said citing a report by CNPC Economic and Technology Research Institute (ETRI) which was released on Tuesday.

Taking into account natural gas storage, actual consumption was 187.3 billion cubic meters in 2015, up 3.9 percent on year. China’s development plan for 2011-2015 had predicted consumption of 230 bcm for 2015, Xinhua Finance added.

However, a demand revival is expected this year. According to Qian Xingkun, deputy head of CNPC ETRI, China's apparent consumption of natural gas would grow 7.3 percent on year to 205 bcm in 2016.

Chinese state planner NDRC cut wholesale gas prices by about 25 percent in November to boost domestic demand.

Residential gas consumption is expected to rise 9.1 percent on year to 82.7 bcm in 2016, usage in power generation will most likely be up 8.7 percent on year to 31.9 bcm. Demand for gas as industrial fuel is expected to be up 6.1 percent on year to 61.1 bcm, Xinhua Finance reported.

Also, natural gas will make up 6.45 percent of China's primary energy consumption in 2016, up from the 5.9 percent in 2015.