TIANJIN: China’s natural gas demand this year is expected to grow by 8% from 2022 to 396.4 billion cubic metres (bcm), an analyst from state-owned oil major CNOOC’s research division said at a conference on Thursday.

Imports of liquefied natural gas (LNG) are expected to reach 70.79 million metric tons this year, up 10.9% from last year, while that of pipeline gas is seen reaching 69.5 bcm, 10.7% above the 2022 level, said Xie Xuguang, from CNOOC Gas and Power Group’s research centre.