Baku, Azerbaijan, June 27
By Ilkin Shafiyev – Trend:
By 2019, China will become the world's biggest importer of natural gas, according to the forecast of the International Energy Agency (IEA).
As a result of continued economic growth and the policy to reduce air pollution, about 37 percent of global growth in natural gas consumption from 2017 until 2023 will account for China, the IEA specialists added.
As domestic production will not cope with growing demand, China will become the biggest importer of natural gas, primarily liquefied natural gas, by 2019, and by 2023, gas consumption in the country will reach 171 billion cubic meters, according to the IEA.
2017 was the year of strong growth in demand for natural gas, fueled by China.
Demand for natural gas increased by 3 percent in 2017, according to the IEA. This is the highest rate since 2010. In China, the demand increased by 15 percent, which is stipulated by the policy to reduce emissions by switching from coal to natural gas for domestic and industrial needs. Thus, China is the second biggest importer of gas after Japan.
In general, the IEA expects the natural gas market to exceed four billion cubic meters by 2022 and the annual growth to reach 1.6 percent.
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