CNOOC Secures 40% of China's LNG Import Market in 2024

In 2024, CNOOC maintained its leading position in China's LNG market, capturing approximately 40% of the country's LNG import share. According to official data from CNOOC, the company supplied a total of 69.4 BCM of natural gas to the domestic market, accounting for about one-sixth of China's total natural gas consumption in 2024. Of this volume, around 40% was sourced from domestic production, while the remainder was imported through long-term contracts and spot purchases of LNG, with LNG imports exceeding 30 MMt.

CNOOC's supply system not only ensured stable overall volumes but also enhanced the resilience and precision of natural gas supply through flexible scheduling and resource allocation. As China's energy structure transitions and market-oriented reforms advance, the challenges in natural gas supply have shifted from mere resource security to contract security, peak supply, and holiday supply. In response, CNOOC has optimized its natural gas resource pool by using domestic offshore gas and coalbed methane as “stabilizers” and imported LNG as a “regulator,” achieving complementary use of international and domestic resources.

This flexible resource scheduling model has proven effective in addressing regional fluctuations in gas consumption. For example, the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region's winter gas consumption can be more than double that of summer, while the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area's summer consumption increases by 25% compared to winter. In late 2024, when Jiangsu Province issued a cold wave alert, CNOOC provided emergency gas supply to nine peaking power plants in Jiangsu, delivering over 65 mcm of gas. During the winter supply season, CNOOC also increased the supply of gas to Zhejiang Province, with a total supply volume exceeding 100 mcm, nearly tripling the previous year’s amount.

Additionally, with China's new energy power generation capacity surpassing that of coal-fired power, natural gas power generation has become an increasingly important flexible power source. CNOOC has optimized its natural gas supply to support grid peaking and frequency regulation, facilitating the transition of the energy structure and stable operation of the power system.