Chinese gas forecasts leave LNG uncertainty

There is both plenty of opportunity and plenty of risk for the LNG sector as it looks to meet China’s expanding need for gas

China’s LNG demand will remain robust as it leans on gas to transition away from coal, but how much supply the Chinese market can absorb in the coming decades will partly determine how many export projects are sanctioned in the next few years. The country’s LNG imports expanded by 18pc year-on-year in 2021, to 81.4mn t, overtaking Japan’s 75mn t to become the world’s largest buyer, according to information provider IHS Markit. Gas analysts at state-owned CNPC believe Chinese gas demand grew to an estimated 370bn m³ last year. Most medium-range outlooks within China see demand rising to as much as 600bn m³ by the end of this decade on the back of government policies that aim to lift gas to 1