CNPC expects China's demand for gas to grow to 650 bcm by 2035

KAZAN. Aug 18 (Interfax) - China National Petroleum Corporation (CNPC), China's largest state-owned oil and gas company, expects demand for gas in China to grow to 600-650 billion cubic meters (bcm) over the next decade, deputy CEO of the CNPC Russian branch Li Yonghong said.

"Natural gas will also [like oil] continue to be in its prime for a long time still. In light of this, it is important to note that the Chinese gas market is currently 40% dependent on imports and has broad growth prospects. The organization forecasts that demand for gas in China will reach between 600 and 650 bcm by 2035 - more than 200 bcm above its current level," Yonghong said at ROSTKI Russia and China - Mutually Beneficial Cooperation, a Russian-Chinese business forum in Kazan.

He said that reinforcing pipeline gas trade between China and Russia, promoting investment projects in the gas industry, deepening cooperation in gas and chemical research and technology and methanol and synthetic ammonia production and integrating industrial supply chains will help maintain stability in the countries' energy and industry partnership.

Yonghong said that it was very important to begin implementing new energy sources and that Russian and Chinese companies needed to step up collaboration in the development of solar and wind power technology and equipment and implement carbon capture, utilization and storage (CCUS) technologies, as well as transforming the energy mix to create an environmentally friendly, low-carbon smart grid and promoting the creation of new digital smart oil and gas fields.

"And with this foundation, we definitely expect to speed up the transition to payments in national currencies and form a new model for relations between great powers that is based on transformation, global energy trade and pricing policies," he said.