In a statement the Energy Bureau of the State Development and Reform Commission said, “China has practically opened to foreign investors the whole natural gas industrial chain that covers exploration and development, infrastructure facilities, natural gas power plants and fuel gas supply of large and medium-sized cities.”
“[However,] foreign equipment manufacturers [will] have more opportunities in the area of building natural gas power plants, as the proportion of natural gas used in generating electricity will be raised from the current 14% to more than 30%,” added the Commission.
It is understood China has budgeted around US$26.6 billion to build up its natural gas facilities. These include 50,000 km of natural gas pipelines, 10 million tons of LNG receiving stations and one million tons of natural gas delivery capacity.