China is Producing More Natural Gas and is Set to Become World’s Third Largest Producer

      There is a fracking boom going on in China. Shale gas is leading it. The demand for gas is there, and the reserves are there. An article in the Telegraph by Hans van Leeuwen notes that China’s natural gas production hit a record high last year, rising 6% to 262 billion cubic meters (BCM), about 9.17 TCF, or 25.1 BCF per day. Current trajectories suggest that China will overtake Iran as the world’s third-largest producer of natural gas sometime this year. President Xi declared he wants China to produce 300 BCM annually by 2030. Demand for natural gas is very high in China, and the country imports about 40% of its gas. China is the world’s largest LNG importer, so producing more gas domestically could save it lots of money. Much of China’s imports come via pipeline from Russia, which also sells LNG to China. They also buy LNG from Australia, Qatar, and Malaysia. China was buying U.S. LNG, but the Trump tariffs have halted that trade. Perhaps this is contributing to the increasing trade deficit the U.S. is facing as a whole, which is the opposite effect desired by the tariff actions.

     It has been noted that China’s shale geology is more challenging than that in the U.S. However, the reserves are huge. China has 1,100 TCF of estimated shale gas reserves, compared with 600 TCF in the US, according to the article. The economically recoverable portion, however, may be considerably lower. China began fracking for shale gas in 2012, and since 201,7 shale gas production has grown by 20% per year.

     China has been offering tax breaks and subsidies for state-owned energy giants CNPC and Sinopec. Even if Xi’s 2030 goals of producing 300 BCM are reached, China will still be a net importer by a wide margin, as 2030 natural gas demand is expected to reach 550 BCM.

     He also points out that natural gas supplies just 9% of China’s total energy demand, although the country hopes to grow its share of natural gas for power, heating, and industry. While China may move into third place for gas production, it currently produces much less than half of what Russia produces and not much over a quarter of what the U.S. produces.

    

 

References:

 

 China unleashes fracking boom to ramp up gas supplies. Hans van Leeuwen. The Telegraph. January 29, 2026. China unleashes fracking boom to ramp up gas supplies