China: Enter the smokeless dragon
Part of China’s blue-sky strategy is the switch from coal to natural gas—with an unexpected impact on the global LNG market
Between 2015 and 2017, China's liquefied natural gas imports doubled. Pipeline gas imports more than doubled. Yet last winter China faced an unprecedented gas supply crisis that left homes, schools and hospitals without heating—prompting a scramble to divert gas from industry. The immediate cause of the crisis was an air pollution-prevention-and-control programme stipulating that coal-fired boilers in key regions should be replaced with gas-fired ones. The deadline, October 2017, coincided with the Communist Party's 19 th National Congress and so implementation was exceptionally forceful. In some places, coal boilers were ripped out before gas replacements were available. In others, the swit
Also in this section
10 May 2024
The US’ contentious LNG permitting pause has prompted criticism from CEOs and wildly differing interpretations from politicians
9 May 2024
Pipeline boosts Canada’s oil industry by widening its export options, making it less reliant on US market and bringing Asia into the mix
8 May 2024
Despite Australia’s first import terminal nearing completion, the prospect of additional regasification projects is far from certain