China's breakneck economic development and industrialisation of the last three decades have turned the country into a major consumer of energy. In fact, China is currently the world's second biggest energy consumer, and is on course to become the biggest one within a relatively short period of time. This process has taken place in parallel with the rise in energy consumption in the rest of Asia and of the developing world. Just like most countries globally, China's energy supply structure is still dominated by fossil fuels such as coal, oil and natural gas. However, the use of renewable sources of energy is on the increase, as the need to achieve a sustainable mode of development becomes more keenly felt.

This book focuses on the current state of China's oil and gas industries, the opportunities they present and the challenges they face. Oil and natural gas remain the two most important and most widely used sources of energy in the world, and in spite of the increasing development of renewable energy, it is unlikely that their status will be challenged any time soon. The oil and gas industries of China, the world's second largest economies, are thus clearly of great importance and interest to the entire world.

Due to its high efficiency and the relatively low pollution it creates, oil has been the most popular source of energy globally since it replaced coal in the sixties. China is the second biggest oil consumer in the world behind the U.S., and its consumption is forecasted to continue rising. Although oil remains dominant worldwide, the demand for natural gas is also forecasted to grow steadily in the future, partly as an alternative to oil. There are various reasons for this. It has now become a political imperative to reduce carbon emissions, and from this point of view natural gas is much preferable to oil, while being more convenient than renewable sources of energy. Another factor is concern about the inevitable decrease of the oil supply as ""peak oil"" is reached. Furthermore, the development of natural gas powered vehicles and of the natural gas chemical industry are also contributing to raise the demand. This trend towards a greater use of natural gas has also concerned China, which is currently the fourth largest consumer of natural gas in the world.