China's March Gas Output Rises 7.6%, Highest in Two Years

China’s natural gas production rose in March rose 7.6 percent to 11 billion cubic meters, according to data from the National Bureau of Statistics.

According to news agency Bloomberg, the output last month was highest in two years.

“Higher natural gas output was boosted by robust demand as end users continue to switch their boilers from coal-powered to gas-fed amid environmental requirements,” Wang Ruiqi, an analyst with ICIS-C1 Energy, a Shanghai-based consultancy, told Bloomberg.

Asia’s biggest economy is looking to boost its domestic natural gas output to reduce dependence on imports. The government is focusing on exploiting country’s unconventional hydrocarbons resources to add to the output.

China aims to produce 6.5 billion cubic meters of shale gas by 2015, according to the nation’s Development Plan for Shale Gas, launched in 2013.

Last month, China Petroleum and Chemical Corporation or Sinopec announced it is planning to develop the Fuling shale gas field into China’s first shale gas field.

The field is projected to have an annual production capacity of 10 billion cubic meters by 2017.

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