China s foreign fuel reliance rises(69714)

China s foreign fuel reliance rises

The country s natural gas import volume jumped 206% year-on-year to 4.51 billion cubic meters in the first four months of the year. Imports now account for 12.8% of all domestically consumed natural gas, up five percentage points from 7.7% as of the end of last year ,data from the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) shows.

China s natural gas output reached 31.89 billion cubic meters in the first four months of 2010, a 13.1% increase from a year ago. Apparent consumption, an index measuring real consumption excluding inventories, was 35.14 billion cubic meters, a rise of 22.8% year-on-year.

China began importing natural gas in 2006. The pipelines transport oil and gas from Myanmar and end in Kunming, capital of Southwest China s Yunnan Province. About 12 billion cubic meters of gas are expected to flow through the pipeline from Myanmar to China every year.

Natural gas is often described as the cleanest fossil fuel, producing less carbon dioxide, far smaller amounts of sulfur dioxide and nitrous oxides.

At present, China accounts for 4% of global GDP but consumes 31% of the world's coal and 8 percent of its oil.