The Challenges And Countermeasures In China's Natural Gas Rapid Development Period
Authors: Duan Zhaofang , Zhao Chunhong 
Published: May 2016

China's natural gas industry has been expanding rapidly in recent years. Proven reserves and production grows rapidly, and gas transmission and distribution systems develop rapidly. Consumer market has transferred from the origin to cross-regional consumption and consumption structure achieves diversification. Achievements mentioned above have laid a good foundation for the great development of gas industry. At the same time, China's natural gas industry still faces many problems and challenges. How to integrate resources, pipelines and market is one challenge China facing. In addition, China is active in importing gas from oversea. How to coordinate domestic gas and imported gas, including multi-gas sources, multi-channels and the gas price, is another challenge. To overcome these challenges, what is needed to do for China is to establish a comprehensive system in terms of gas policy, price and regulation to promote the resources, pipeline network and market coordinate development, and to ensure China's natural gas industry to achieve rapid sustainable development.

Introduction

As a major energy consumer and producer, China is currently in the rapid development stage of industrialization and urbanization, and energy demand will grow rapidly. The rapid development of gas industry is of great significance in increasing China's energy supply, optimizing China's energy structure and improving environment. China's natural gas industry has entered a high speed development period. Despite its broad prospects, but there still exist many problems and challenges in exploration and development, infrastructure and market development.

I China's Natural Gas Industry has entered a high speed development period

Natural gas resources are relatively abundant in China China's latest resource investigation showed that: Prospective resources, geological resources and recoverable resources of natural gas stand at 56 tcm, 35 tcm and 22 tcm respectively. The distribution of natural gas resources in China mainly concentrate in the Tarim, Sichuan, Ordos and Qaidam basins, etc. 9 basins, where recoverable resources accounts for more than 80% of the national gas resources. Proven recoverable reserves expands rapidly Since 2000, with the advancement of geological knowledge and exploration technology, proven reserves have grown rapidly. Big and large gas fields such as Kela-2, Puguang have been found one after another in the former foreland basin, marine carbonate rocks, a large area litho logy, volcanic rocks. In 2008, China's cumulative proven recoverable gas reserves amounted to 3.87 trillion cubic meters, and proved rate was only 17.6%. There is still great potential for future natural gas exploration. In recent years, China's yearly average natural gas proven recoverable reserves have remained nearly 300 billion cubic meters. Natural gas production grows gradually China's natural gas production grew by an annual average rate of 14% from 2000 to 2008, amounting to 77.5 bcm in 2008 (fig.1), and it is estimated to reach 86 bcm in 2009. Among them, Tarim, Sichuan and Ordos output lists top three, which is 18.7, 17.6 and 16.3 billion cubic meters respectively. Output of the three regions accounted for more than two-thirds of total output. From history of natural gas production changes, production growth in the western region is the most rapid, offshore natural gas production grows relatively rapid, and the production in the eastern region keeps steady.