China Jan-Aug Gas Imports Nearly Doubled  


China's natural gas imports nearly doubled in the first eight months of the year from a year earlier, after it opened a pipeline to move in more central Asian gas and started a new import terminal for liquefied natural gas (LNG).

Imports in the Jan-Aug period were 20.2 billion cubic metres (bcm), the National Development & Reform Commission (NDRC) said on its website www.ndrc.gov.cn.

By deducting the January-July imports of 16.8 bcm the commission reported earlier, the August imports should be 3.4 bcm, which would be a new record.

NDRC said apparent gas consumption expanded 21.7 percent in the same period to 84.2 bcm, which implies that imports now make up nearly a quarter of the total consumption.

PetroChina , the country's top oil and gas firm, opened a gas pipeline at the end of June linking central Asia with the southern city of Guangzhou. It also started in late May an LNG receiving terminal in eastern Jiangsu province.

The NDRC said refined fuel stocks by the end of August were 1.6 million tonnes above year-ago levels, and the level was "basically normal", without specifying what products were included in the data.

"Refined fuel supplies were fairly ample. Fuel demand growth eased in August but still held at a relatively high level," the NDRC said.

From   Reuters