As China slows its gasification push due to a weaker economy and competition from cheaper coal, the country’s natural gas demand is expected to expand at half the rate this winter compared to a year earlier.
Higher 5-8 percent than a year before, gas demand is forecast at 145 billion to 150 bcm this winter. The gas demand growth is lower than the 14.6 percent expansion in the previous heating season.
Since 2017, China has embarked on an aggressive gasification campaign to cut carbon emissions as well as to battle air pollution.
As the country continues gasification to fight pollution, China’s coal-to-gas conversion will add 8 to 9 bcm of natural gas demand this winter. Gas demand from PetroChina’s customers is expected to reach 94.5 bcm this winter, 7 percent more than last winter, a pace also slowing compared to 8.8 percent a year earlier.
China is also strongly promoting ultra-low emission technology that has been applied to nearly 80 percent of the country’s thermal power generators.
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