BEIJING, March 15 (Xinhua) -- China's liquefied natural gas (LNG) import is likely to expand further against the backdrop of relevantly loose supply in the global market, according to industry experts.
The country's LNG imports grew year by year over the past two years due to stable economic growth as well as increasing environmental protection policies.
Global LNG supply, on the other hand, is expected to increase by 35 million tonnes in 2019, most of which is expected to be consumed by European and Asian users, according to Shell LNG Outlook 2019 released by the Royal Dutch /Shell Group of Companies on March 13 in Beijing.
Domestic LNG demand is likely to drop soon due to end of heating season, according to Ma Xiaohui, general manager with China Gas Hongda Energy Trade Co., Ltd, a subsidiary with China Gas Holdings, noting that domestic LNG market conditions in 2019 will depend on LNG supply price, downstream user demand as well as the time and price of pipeline gas from Russia.
Global LNG market showed robust growth in 2018 with LNG trade amounting to 319 million tonnes worldwide, according to the report.
Besides, with clean energy and low carbon energy consumption structure as the common aspiration, natural gas and renewable energy are expected to meet 70 percent new added global energy demand, according to the report. (Edited by Niu Huizhe, niuhuizhe@xinhua.org)
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