Global natural gas consumption rose by 96 billion cubic meters (bcm) in 2017, the fastest since 2010, according to British Petroleum's (BP) Statistical Review of World Energy 2018 report.
Published on June 13, the report showed that 2017 was a bumper year for natural gas, with consumption and production both increasing.
According to Spencer Dale, group chief economist of BP, the single biggest factor driving global gas consumption last year was the surge in Chinese gas demand, where consumption increased by over 15 percent, accounting for around a third of the overall increase.
'Much of this rapid expansion can be traced back to the environmental action plan announced in 2013, which set targets for improvements in air quality over the subsequent five years,' Dale said.
In the global gas market, consumption growth was driven by China (31 bcm), the Middle East (28 bcm) and Europe (26 bcm).
Global natural gas production also increased last year by 131 bcm, or 4 percent, almost double the 10-year average growth rate.
According to the report, Russian growth was the largest at 46 bcm, followed by Iran at 21 bcm.
In addition, gas trade expanded by 63 bcm, or 6.2 percent, with growth in LNG outpacing growth in pipeline trade.
The increase in gas exports was driven largely by Australian and U.S. LNG exports (up by 17 and 13 bcm, respectively), and Russian pipeline exports (15 bcm).
The report underlined that Chinese gas demand looks set to continue to increase strongly this year, but it seems unlikely that the extent of last year's surge in demand in the country will be repeated in 2019 and beyond.
By Murat Temizer
Anadolu Agency
energy@aa.com.tr