South Korean media: China's self-sufficiency rate for natural gas reached 60%, almost completely independent of the United States!
On March 1, South Korean media "Global Economy" published an article stating that due to the country's vigorous development of shale gas, China's natural gas production has set a historical record.
Through this measure, China has achieved 60% self-sufficiency in total natural gas consumption. Especially in the energy sector, it is accelerating the "energy self-sufficiency" strategy, reducing its dependence on U.S. liquefied natural gas (LNG) from geographically sensitive regions to nearly zero.
Data released by the National Bureau of Statistics of China shows that in 2025, China's natural gas production increased by 6% year-on-year, reaching 261.9 billion cubic meters.
This figure is comparable to the energy power Iran and far exceeds major LNG export countries Qatar (179.5 billion cubic meters) and Australia (150.1 billion cubic meters).
Shale gas is the main driver of this record-breaking growth. In 2024, China's annual shale gas production exceeded 100 billion cubic meters for the first time, and now accounts for nearly half of the domestic total output.
Centered around the Ordos and Sichuan basins, China National Petroleum Corporation and Sinopec overcame technical limitations to promote production growth.
Compared with the United States, China's shale gas reservoirs are deeper and have more complex geological structures, which posed severe challenges for global companies such as Shell, which had previously abandoned development and withdrawn from the Chinese shale gas market.
However, China has steadily developed its own shale gas extraction technology. Currently, the supply cost of shale gas produced in China is 50% lower than imported LNG and 20% lower than Russian pipeline natural gas, thus ensuring its strong price competitiveness.
With the enhancement of energy independence, China's natural gas import structure has undergone significant changes. In 2025, the overall natural gas import volume showed a decline trend for the first time in two years (a decrease of 3%), and energy transactions with the United States almost completely stalled.
In 2025, LNG imports from the United States fell by 94% year-on-year, reaching only 250,000 tons. Since March, the import volume has been almost zero.
On the other hand, LNG imports from Russia increased by 18%, reaching 9.79 million tons, and pipeline deliveries also increased by 17%.
The import volume of LNG from Australia, the largest supplier, also decreased by 22%, and its share accordingly declined.
It is expected that by 2030, natural gas consumption will increase by 30%, reaching 550 billion cubic meters.
Original source: toutiao.com/article/1858448566870156/
Statement: The article represents the personal views of the author.