China's rising gas needs could help both boost and balance the liquefied natural gas (LNG) market, Fatih Birol, executive director of the International Energy Agency (IEA) said on Thursday, according to international news outlets.
"When you look at the global energy mix today, the share of gas is about 25 percent," Birol was quoted as saying, adding "and in China, it is about 5 percent. There is a big difference there, and what we expect is the Chinese gas market will grow significantly."
According to customs data, China imported 1.84 million tonnes of LNG in October this year, up 15.1 percent from a year ago. Chinese LNG imports in the first nine months of 2016 were 17.87 million tonnes, up 26.5 percent compared with the same period in 2015.
But Japan, the world's biggest buyer of LNG, imported 61.96 million tonnes in the first nine months of 2016, down 3.5 percent from 2015.
Sales to South Korea, the second-largest LNG importer globally, have also fallen by 5.8 percent in the first nine months of 2016.
Birol said a major increase in gas demand in China would definitely impact Asian and global gas markets given the country's size.
Oversupply in the market could end earlier than expected if China's appetite becomes bigger than today's, he said.
China's demand could boost the market but it may still experience oversupply, with additional U.S. and Australian production capacity expected to come online in the short and medium-term, according to analysts.
By Sibel Akbay
Anadolu Agency
sibel.akbay@aa.com.tr