By Ma Dongwei

A review on China's 14th five-year plan for the period 2021-2025 indicated that the country is progressing towards a new era in the oil and gas sector with a more diverse and balanced energy mix. China's natural gas production is expected to reach 300 billion cubic meters by 2030. The review showed that during this five-year period, new proven reserves increased by 7 billion tons for oil and 7 trillion cubic meters for natural gas, up 43% and 40% respectively from the 13th five-year plan (2016-2020).

Oil production in 2025 is expected to be 215-216 mil tons. For natural gas, development showed considerable progress with new production increasing by 13 billion cubic meters every year. For the 15th five-year plan for the period 2026-2030, new production is expected to increase by 10 billion cubic meters per year and reach 300 billion cubic meters by 2030.

For the next 10 years, the country's energy mix is expected to see a fall in coal, a stable level of oil and gas and an increase in renewable energy. By 2060, the proportion of fossil energy, hydro and nuclear, wind power and solar power is expected to be 23%, 19%, 25% and 30% respectively.

With the rapid development of artificial intelligence and new industries with high energy consumption, China's power demand in 2060 is expected to exceed 20 trillion kWh, double the level of 2025.