Gross imports
China gets natural gas from three places: domestic production, cross-border pipelines, and LNG delivered by ship. This page starts with the combined import picture, then separates the two import channels and finally places them inside the full gas balance.
The controls change every component on the page. Start with the latest gas year, or switch to calendar years if that is how you normally compare the data.
First, line up the seasons
Gas demand is seasonal, so the default view runs from October through September. That keeps one northern-hemisphere winter inside a single period. A calendar-year view splits the same heating season across two labels.
The first chart overlays the five most recent periods. It answers the quickest question in the dataset: are total imports running above or below the same point in earlier years? Hover over a point for its monthly value in billion cubic metres.
Then separate LNG from pipeline gas
Total imports combine two physically different markets. Pipeline gas arrives through fixed cross-border infrastructure. LNG arrives by ship and is usually discussed in tonnes, while the wider gas balance is expressed here in billion cubic metres.
The bars keep the reported LNG and pipeline components separate. The two dashed lines show the prior five-year monthly averages for total imports and LNG, so the selected year can be read against a seasonal baseline without mixing partial and complete annual totals.
Import stack
LNG and Pipeline Imports
Imports are only one side of demand
China also produces a large amount of gas domestically. JODI’s calculated demand is gross inland deliveries: production plus imports, minus exports and reported stock change. For China, stock change is reported as zero in this extract, so the result is apparent demand and may include gas moving into storage.
Read this chart as a balance measure rather than a direct meter reading of end use. The residual check in the table below shows whether the published components reconcile with the calculated-demand series.
Balance
Calculated DemandiJODI calculated demand is production plus imports minus exports, adjusted for stock change. China stock change is reported as zero in this dataset, so this is apparent demand and can include gas going into storage.
What happens between the source and the chart
The page does not forecast or fill missing months. It filters the public JODI file to China natural gas, converts the reported volume rows from million cubic metres to bcm, orders the observations on the selected year basis, and displays only submitted actuals.
Data mechanics
How the JODI View Works
- Read China `NATGAS` monthly rows from the JODI Gas World Database.
- Convert JODI `M3` rows from million cubic meters to bcm.
- Order the selected view by gas year from October through September or by calendar year from January through December.
- Display only reported JODI actual months.
- Check the balance residual: production + imports - exports - stock change - calculated demand.
Use the table when a chart looks surprising
The monthly table exposes every series used above. LNG appears in both bcm and million tonnes, net imports subtract exports from gross imports, and the residual repeats the balance check month by month. Empty cells remain empty rather than being estimated.
Monthly table
JODI Monthly Actuals
| Month | Total Imports | LNG Imports | LNG Imports (mt) | Pipeline Imports | Production | Calculated Demand | Total Exports | Net Imports | Residual | Assessment |
|---|
Keep the definitions beside the numbers
The flow codes below are the labels used in the source database. The source panel links to the downloadable CSV, JODI’s item-name reference, and the manual describing how national administrations submit the data.
Definitions
JODI Flow Codes
Sources