LNG Market Outlook: China shows no slowdown in appetite for natural gas

March 2021 LNG Market Outlook Domestic gas production for China is forecast to rise between 5% and 10% per year in 2021 and 2022. Increasing production from offshore fields is a central component of the Chinese government’s plans to meet climate goals. Much of the increase in production is expected to come from conventional gas resources since the infrastructure and water supplies needed to extract gas from shale deposits will be insufficient in the short to medium term. Gas production in China is forecast to rise from 190 Bcm/y in 2020 to 200 Bcm/y by 2021 and 216 Bcm/y in 2022. Drilling in the deepwater fields in the South China Sea will be the focus where CNOOC claims to have a “mega gas zone” with 1 trillion cubic meters of gas reserves. Historically, a rise in domestic gas production did not displace LNG imports but, rather, pipeline imports. To read the full article, click here.