Natural gas is a kind of green, efficient and clean energy, which can complement other low-emission energy sources, such as renewable energy, and is the most realistic choice for clean energy supply. With the sustained recovery of the real economy and the rapid growth of natural gas consumption in recent years, natural gas plays an increasingly important role in the process of world energy diversification.

Since 2016, China's natural gas demand has erupted due to the downward trend of superimposed gate station price driven by the policy. The demand growth rate is as high as 12%, and the trend is expanding. In 2017, China's natural gas output was 147.4 billion cubic meters, an increase of 7.70 percent over the same period of last year; natural gas import was 955.547 billion cubic meters, an increase of 26.99 percent over the same period of last year; external dependence was 38.43 percent; and natural gas consumption was 239.394 billion cubic meters, an increase of 14.71 percent over the same period of last year.
In the first half of this year, China's natural gas output was 77.9 billion cubic meters, up 4.9 percent from a year earlier; its import of natural gas was 58.4 billion cubic meters, up 39.3 percent from a year earlier; and its apparent consumption of natural gas was 134.8 billion cubic meters, up 17.5 percent from a year earlier. It is estimated that by 2020, the total population of gasification will reach 470 million, and the national demand for new urban gas will reach 23.3 billion cubic meters, with an average annual growth rate of 10.5%. At the same time, the proportion of natural gas consumption in primary energy consumption will rise to 10%, the total consumption of natural gas will reach 360 billion cubic meters, and the compound growth rate of natural gas consumption in China will be close to 15% in 2016-2020.