China’s 15th five-year plan for oil and gas sets out an ambitious expansion of domestic energy infrastructure through 2030, combining higher oil and gas production with expanded LNG import capacity, larger storage reserves and thousands of kilometres of new pipelines. Released on Monday by the National Development and Reform Commission and National Energy Administration, the plan targets 440 million metric tonnes of oil equivalent in domestic oil and gas supply by 2030, while also incorporating carbon capture into the sector’s longer-term transition.

The blueprint covers production, transportation, storage, imports and lower-carbon technologies, reflecting Beijing’s focus on strengthening energy security while reducing vulnerabilities in its supply network.

Major Infrastructure Targets

China plans to construct 20,000 kilometres of long-distance oil and gas pipelines by 2030, taking the country’s total long-distance pipeline network to approximately 220,000 kilometres.

The expansion is intended to improve the movement of domestic and imported supplies between producing regions, storage facilities, processing centres and major consumption markets.

LNG and Pipeline Imports to Expand

A major part of the strategy involves increasing China’s ability to bring natural gas into the country through different routes.

LNG receiving capacity is expected to reach 200 million tonnes per year by 2030, while onshore pipeline import capacity is targeted at 114 billion cubic metres annually. Expanding both options could give China greater flexibility in sourcing gas from international markets.

The plan also calls for progress on the Hainan-Guangdong natural gas pipeline, alongside faster construction of the Lianyungang-Yizheng crude oil pipeline and Wen 23-Anqing natural gas pipeline.

Additional pipelines are planned to connect LNG receiving terminals, including facilities in Beihai, with the wider domestic network.

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Connecting More Domestic Gas Sources

The new infrastructure will not only handle imported energy.

• The government also wants natural gas, coal-to-gas production and coalbed methane supplies to connect more effectively with the country’s national trunk pipeline system.
• Projects including the Zhundong coal-to-gas transmission pipeline and Yuncheng-Sanmenxia pipeline are part of this broader network strategy.

Such connections could allow supplies from different production areas to reach markets more efficiently and strengthen the resilience of China’s energy distribution system.

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Storage Becomes a Bigger Priority

Gas storage is another central component of the plan. China wants storage capacity to exceed 13% of national natural gas consumption by 2030.

Larger reserves could provide additional protection against supply disruptions and seasonal changes in demand, particularly when consumption rises sharply during periods of extreme weather.

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Energy Security Meets Carbon Management

The plan also links continued oil and gas development with China’s wider decarbonisation efforts. By 2030, annual carbon dioxide injection through Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS) and Carbon Capture, Utilization and Storage (CCUS) projects is expected to reach 10 million tonnes.

This indicates that China is not treating its energy transition as an immediate replacement of conventional fuels. Instead, the new strategy combines expanded infrastructure and supply security with technologies intended to reduce emissions from the existing energy system.

For China’s 15th five-year plan for oil and gas, the challenge will be turning these targets into operational capacity while balancing rising energy demand, import requirements, infrastructure investment and the country’s longer-term climate objectives.

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