Natural gas transactions in the Shanghai Petroleum and Natural Gas Exchange (SHPGX) reached a record high last year in part due to China's huge demand for clean energy. The volume of natural gas traded in the exchange amounted to 60.46 billion cubic meters in 2018, for the first time surpassing the 60-billion mark. Of the total, deals of natural gas transported through pipelines came in at 55.54 billion. The volume of liquefied natural gas (LNG) stood at 3.33 million tons last year, according to the exchange. China's appetite for natural gas has swelled rapidly in recent years, in part driven by environmental policies to replace dirtier coal-fired electricity generation. It surpassed the Republic of Korea to become the world's second-largest LNG importer in 2017, after Japan.

Some 90.39 million tons of natural gas were transported to China in 2018, 31.9 percent higher than a year ago, customs data showed. The SHPGX was inaugurated in November 2016 after a year-long trial operation. By the end of 2018, it had 2,242 members, up 40 percent from a year ago.

Copyright Reuters, 2019