Last month, the International Energy Agency said that China will account for 40 percent of the global annual growth in natural gas demand over the next five years. Imports of the bridge fuel in Asia’s second-largest economy are running at record rates as Beijing pushes on with its cleaner energy agenda that should see the country satisfy 10 percent of its energy needs with gas in 2020, from 5.9 percent in 2015. This shift to gas is now creating new opportunities for independent energy companies at the expense of state-owned giants. Energy independents are building a string of LNG import facilities, Bloomberg reported earlier this week, stimulated by the government’s efforts to promote gas and encourage competition, and by the attractive prices on the spot market. Having your own import and distribution infrastructure is essential for these independents, according to one Sanford C. Bernstein analyst, if they want to […]