Data released by the National Development and Reform Commission shows that last year China produced 108 billion cubic meters of natural gas, up 6.5 percent year-on-year (YoY). The import volume of natural gas (including liquefied natural gas) in 2012 was 42.5 billion cubic meters, up 31.1 percent YoY. The apparent consumption of natural gas was 147 billion cubic meters, up 13.0 percent YoY.

It is measured that the nation's dependency on imported natural gas for 2012 amounted to 28.9 percent, higher than the 28 percent for the first seven months of 2012. Data shows that China's dependency on gas imports was only 2 percent in 2007. The figure rose to 5 percent in 2009, jumped to 11.8 percent in 2010, and surged to 24.3 percent in 2011.

One energy official forecasts that coal consumption is likely to account for around 66.4 percent of China's primary energy consumption in 2012, down 2 percentage points on 2011. The share of natural gas in the total primary energy consumption for 2012 is expected to increase by 0.5 percentage points to 5.5 percent, though it is still far lower than the global average level of 25 percent.morningwhistle.com