What’s on the horizon that can and will affect our energy resources? Once again, we must turn our attention to China. Let’s face it – one fifth of the world’s population lives in China! Since it has become industrialized it is consuming more energy than ever before! Consider the following facts:

• By 2025, China will build TEN New York-sized cities!
  Source: Mckinsey, "Preparing for China's urban billion"
• By 2030, China will add more new city-dwellers than the entire U.S. population.
  Source: Mckinsey, "Preparing for China's urban billion"
• China already consumes twice as much steel as the U.S., Europe and Japan combined.
  Source: Business Insider, Posco Steel
• China has more than 50 million vehicles on the road. Researchers estimate this to grow to more than 200 million vehicles by 2020 and 770 million by 2040, provided that China’s real gross domestic product growth averages 6% between now and 2030.
  Source: Baker Institute “Vehicle Stocks in China: Consequences for Oil Demand”
• China’s energy demand with oil consumption has risen from 5.6 million barrels per day in 2003 to 9.2 million barrels in 2010.
  Source: Baker Institute “Vehicle Stocks in China: Consequences for Oil Demand”

With all this additional demand, it is apparent that China will need to aggressively import Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) to support its growth. According to reports by Baker Institute, China and India are poised to become the major trade hubs by 2015, with contract supplies near 50 million metric tons per annum (MMTPA) - up from only 15.3 MMTPA in 2009. Like the U.S., China has substantial shale gas resources but faces technical, regulatory, and market infrastructure challenges that are likely to delay rapid development. So, in the meantime, Asia is accounting for 59% of global LNG demand - China leading the way with 24% of all global LNG imports.