China falls short on gas storage
Asia’s biggest gas market has a way to go to meet its storage capacity targets
Storage assets have helped China cope with a surge in gas demand during its coldest winter in decades, but capacity remains woefully inadequate and is likely still short of official targets. Chinese gas suppliers, anticipating a mild winter, were caught off-guard in December and January by freezing conditions amid an unseasonal surge in industrial activity that drove up domestic energy demand. The frigid conditions snarled up ports and hindered energy imports, forcing state-owned LNG importer Sinopec last month to deploy an icebreaker ship and a cannon loaded with hot water to clear a path for an LNG carrier to dock. Storage is vital to balance supply and demand in the Chinese gas market—par
Also in this section
18 February 2026
With Texas LNG approaching financial close, Alaska LNG advancing towards a phased buildout and Magnolia LNG positioned for future optionality, Glenfarne CEO Brendan Duval says the coming year will demonstrate how the company’s more focused, owner-operator approach is reshaping LNG infrastructure development in the North America
18 February 2026
The global gas industry is no longer on the backfoot, hesitantly justifying the value of its product, but has greater confidence in gas remaining a core part of the global energy mix for decades
18 February 2026
With marketable supply unlikely to grow significantly and limited scope for pipeline imports, Brazil is expected to continue relying on LNG to cover supply shortfalls, Ieda Gomes, senior adviser of Brazilian thinktank FGV Energia,
tells Petroleum Economist
17 February 2026
The 25th WPC Energy Congress, taking place in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia from 26–30 April 2026, will bring together leaders from the political, industrial, financial and technology sectors under the unifying theme “Pathways to an Energy Future for All”
