ASIA'S imports of liquefied natural gas may jump 85 percent by 2015 from last year's levels, as China leads increased demand for cleaner-burning fuels.
An official from the nation's biggest offshore oil explorer made the prediction to Bloomberg News yesterday.
Asian LNG imports may reach 63 million metric tons, compared with 34 million tons in 2006, China National Offshore Oil Corp senior economist Zhang Weiping said in Beijing.
China wants increased gas use to reduce reliance on imported crude oil and cut pollution caused by the coal burned to generate 78 percent of its electricity.
China may triple the use of gas to nine percent of its energy supply by 2020. Australia will likely supply 39 million tons of Asia's 2015 LNG demand, Iran 11 million tons, Russia five million tons and Indonesia and Peru four million tons each, Zhang said.