Market research by specialists from China National Petroleum Corporation has shown the densely populated and wealthy Yangtze River Delta to be the area of China most in need of natural gas. It is anticipated that taken together, the natural gas requirements of the city of Shanghai, Jiangsu Province and Zhejiang Province will increase to 8.3 billion cubic meters by 2005 and 14.5 billion cubic meters by 2010. Natural gas can provide for the needs of industry including the power and chemical industries, not to mention its use as a domestic fuel. According to the experts, the Tarim Basin has all the capacity necessary to meet anticipated demand in the delta.

According to the experts, the use of pipeline gas in the Yangtze River Delta will be concentrated in and around its large cities. However, there will still be a surplus remaining in the natural gas supply even after these urban needs have met. The experts point to a need to explore the consumer market further to improve utilization of natural gas compared with alternative fuels. What they propose is the use of piped gas in the cities and liquefied natural gas in the countryside. This will require liquefaction facilities to be set up at points along the pipeline with natural gas outlets supplying bottled gas to rural communities.

A single plant capable of processing of 10,000 tons annually can meet the cooking needs of 10,000 families. Cooking with natural gas offers not only a solution to the environmental damage associated with wood burning but also promises significant savings in cooking expenses.

Natural gas is a clean and efficient energy source that accounts for some 24 percent of the world’s energy provision and is well on its way to taking over the place currently occupied by oil. Prevalence in the use of natural gas in China currently lags behind that in the developed countries at say 2 percent of provision. China’s utilization of natural gas will increase dramatically with the development of the consumer market in the Yangtze River Delta.