Natural gas supply set to satisfy needs in key season

A natural gas supply crunch is unlikely to happen nationwide in the 2019-20 heating season, due to a slower increase in natural gas consumption, and strengthened supply capabilities arising from continuous domestic production growth, increased imports, and improved gas infrastructure, industry insiders said.

The country's annual natural gas output is expected to reach more than 170 billion cubic meters this year, increasing by more than 11 billion cubic meters, while it is putting more overseas natural gas in pipelines, Xinhua News Agency reported on Tuesday, citing an unidentified official of the National Development and Reform Commission.

The China-Russia east-route natural gas pipeline project is expected to start operation in early December, and imports of overseas liquefied natural gas have seen rapid growth.