China’s oil and gas use fell in 2022 for the first time in decades due to COVID-19 lockdowns that curbed energy demand, a sign of a weakening economy, writes Clifford Krauss in The New York Times (NYT).
The International Energy Agency, which made the revelation on Friday, said that China’s economy was severely hampered by stringent measures to curb the spread of Covid-19. China’s demand for natural gas declined by 0.7 per cent in 2022, the first drop since 1982, the agency reported.
Imports of liquefied natural gas fell by 21 per cent, dropping China to second place among importers, behind Japan. The United States is a major exporter of gas to China, but over the past year it shifted much of its Asian business to Europe, reported NYT.
