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Gas consumption in China may soon surpass entire EU’s demand — Gazprom

According to Kirill Polous, Gazprom expects to see further expansion of the export niche for gas supplies to China and plans to continue working to fill it

MOSCOW, December 15. /TASS/. China may soon surpass the entire European Union in terms of gas consumption if the decline in demand in Europe continues, deputy department head at Gazprom Kirill Polous said on Thursday.

"China's gas demand has grown at an astonishing rate of more than 13% per year since the turn of the century. During this time, China's gas consumption increased by over 350 bln cubic meters. If European gas demand continues to diminish, it is extremely likely that in the near future, China's yearly gas consumption will exceed that of the EU," he said, adding that by the end of 2022, China's gas consumption is projected at 375 bln cubic meters.

By 2040, gas consumption in China may increase to 700 bln cubic meters, China's import potential will more than double up to 330 bln cubic meters, he added.

According to Polous, Gazprom expects to see further expansion of the export niche for gas supplies to China and plans to continue working to fill it. "In the long term, we expect an increase in the export niche for gas supplies to China and plan to continue working to fill it," he said.

Gazprom currently supplies gas through the Power of Siberia in excess of daily contractual obligations at the request of the Chinese side. The Russian holding maintains plans to bring the gas pipeline to its design capacity in 2025, Polous said.

Gazprom has also started working on a project to connect the Unified Gas Supply System in the west of the country with Eastern Siberia and the Far East.

Earlier, Gazprom reported that global gas demand for 11 months of 2022 decreased by about 55 bln cubic meters due to declining demand in the EU. The decrease in gas consumption in 27 EU countries amounted to around 50 bln cubic meters, in the UK - over 6 bln cubic meters.

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