Singapore — China consumed 280.30 billion cubic meters of natural gas in 2018, up 18.1% year on year, the National Development and Reform Commission said on its website late Thursday.
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Register NowThe natural gas consumption growth in 2018 outpaced the growth rate of 15.3% in 2017 and 6.6% in 2016, respectively, according to the NDRC's historical data, implying China's increasing demand for natural gas.
The government's targets to reduce air pollution and move to cleaner burning fuels exemplified by its Blue Sky Policy and the Five-Year Plan will continue to drive the country's gas consumption, S&P Global Platts reported earlier.
NDRC neither provided figures for December 2018, nor provided data on imports and production in 2018.
According to data released by the General Administration of Customs recently, China imported a total 90.39 million mt, or 124.64 Bcm, of natural gas in 2018, up 31.9% year on year.
The volume comprises 53.78 million mt of LNG and 36.61 million mt of pipeline gas, the customs' data showed.
Besides, China produced 161.02 Bcm of natural gas in 2018, up 7.5% year on year, according to data from the National Bureau of Statistics.
--Staff, newsdesk@spglobal.com
--Edited by Liz Thang, elizabeth.thang@spglobal.com