Natural gas consumption rose 11.6 pct to 77 bn cubic meters in Jan-March quarter

China's natural gas consumption grew steadily in the first quarter amid the country's fight against air pollution, the official Xinhua News Agency reported. Apparent consumption of natural gas rose 11.6 per cent during the January-March period from a year earlier to 77 billion cubic meters, following robust annual growth of 18.1 per cent in 2018, Xinhua said, citing data from the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC).

China released a three-year action plan in 2018 to fight pollution, aiming to boost the share of natural gas in its total primary energy consumption to 10 per cent by 2020, Xinhua reported. According to a separate Xinhua article on Saturday, China consumed 76.9 million tonnes of refined oil in the first quarter, up 0.4 per cent from a year earlier. Gasoline consumption rose 3.7 per cent while diesel consumption shed 4.1 per cent during the same period, Xinhua said, also citing NDRC data.