Underground gas storage 'key to energy security'

Underground natural gas storage capacity should be expanded to increase the nation's strategic energy reserves and ensure supply, said a senior official from China Petrochemical Corp (Sinopec), the country's biggest refiner.

Sun Jian, general manager of the Jianghan Oilfield Branch of Sinopec, who is also a deputy of the National People's Congress, said during the two sessions that China should build more underground storage facilities along with increased exploration and an expansion of the pipeline network.

China, as the third-biggest natural gas user in the world, consumed 176.1 billion cubic meters of natural gas last year, five times the level of a decade earlier.