China to Double Natural Gas Demand in Five Years

China’s natural gas demand, which currently accounts for just 3% of the national total demand for energy, is expected by the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) to rise to 6% to 8% during the next five years, according to information released this week.

“Annual natural gas consumption will hit 100 billion cubic metres by the end of the Eleventh Five Year Plan period [2006-2010] under the increasing demand. The natural gas demand will account for 6% to 8% of the country’s total energy demand by then,” China Securities Journal quoted an anonymous source with the National Development and Reform Commission as saying.