Chinese gas outlook in doubt on weak Jiangsu demand

Multiple economic impacts of the pandemic are stacked up against the nation’s ambitious gas strategy

Jiangsu, China’s largest provincial gas market, is set to miss an annual demand target for the fuel that previously looked within reach—raising questions about the outlook for the overall Chinese gas market for the rest of this year as the prolonged pandemic depresses global economic output. Jiangsu, part of the economically vibrant Yangtze River Delta region on China’s eastern seaboard, reported apparent consumption of 16.74bn m³ from January to August. A comparative figure for the same eight months of 2019 was not disclosed, but calculations by Petroleum Economist using released figures for individual demand categories indicate overall consumption declined by 5.6pc year-on-year  The drop w