China Says Gas Output May More Than Triple by 2030
China said its annual natural gas output may more than triple to 250 billion cubic meters by 2030 as the world’s second-biggest energy user steps up petroleum exploration to meet its fuel needs.
Oil production may remain at 200 million metric tons a year by 2030, the Ministry of Land and Resources said in a statement on its Web site. China has recoverable oil reserves of 21.2 billion tons and recoverable gas deposits of 22 trillion cubic meters, the ministry said.
Chinese oil and gas companies are boosting their production capacities to benefit from the world’s fastest-growing major economy, which expanded by 10.1 percent in the second quarter. Oil demand is expected to increase 5.7 percent next year as the Chinese travel more, the International Energy Agency said in its Aug. 12 report.
“The assessment shows China’s oil production will grow stably while natural gas output increase will be at a faster pace,” the ministry said in the statement.
Natural gas output rose 23 percent to 69.3 billion cubic meters in 2007, the official Xinhua News Agency reported in February, citing the China Petroleum and Chemical Industry Association.
China has recoverable coal-bed methane reserves of 11 trillion cubic meters, oil shale reserves of 12 billion tons and oil sands reserves of 2.3 billion tons, the land and resources ministry said today.
“The nation has good prospects of oil-shale and coal-bed methane resources, which will be an important supplement to the conventional oil and gas reserves,” according to the statement.
Tags: Gas, output