China falls short on gas storage
Asia’s biggest gas market has a way to go to meet its storage capacity targets
Storage assets have helped China cope with a surge in gas demand during its coldest winter in decades, but capacity remains woefully inadequate and is likely still short of official targets. Chinese gas suppliers, anticipating a mild winter, were caught off-guard in December and January by freezing conditions amid an unseasonal surge in industrial activity that drove up domestic energy demand. The frigid conditions snarled up ports and hindered energy imports, forcing state-owned LNG importer Sinopec last month to deploy an icebreaker ship and a cannon loaded with hot water to clear a path for an LNG carrier to dock. Storage is vital to balance supply and demand in the Chinese gas market—par
Also in this section
28 March 2024
The country’s largest gas field is a bright spot for the North Sea, boasting cleaner operations amid a changing mood in Europe over hydrocarbons
28 March 2024
Whether OPEC+ starts to unwind its oil production cuts from June will depend on heavily debated unfolding supply-demand balances
28 March 2024
As a gas supply shortfall looms, balancing regulatory flexibility with energy security and investor confidence will be critical
27 March 2024
Oil producers have to untangle the increasingly complicated relationship with their natural resources