National Energy Administration: Ensure underground gas storage is full for winter and coastal LNG storage tanks maintain high liquid levels

September 21 — The National Energy Administration convened a special meeting to assess the outlook for natural gas supply security during the 2026–2027 heating season. The meeting aimed to thoroughly implement the decisions and arrangements set forth by the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China and the State Council regarding responses to the situation in the Middle East and safeguarding national energy security, as well as to follow the working requirements of the National Development and Reform Commission and the National Energy Administration. With a focus on ensuring the public’s ability to keep warm through the winter, the participants discussed the supply and demand outlook for natural gas this winter and next spring, and refined the deployment of key tasks for the next stage. Wang Jianbo, Party Leadership Group member and Deputy Director of the National Energy Administration, presided over the meeting and delivered remarks.The meeting emphasized that oil and gas enterprises, as the main force in ensuring natural gas supply, must uphold a bottom-line mindset, adopt a problem-oriented approach, plan ahead, and implement multiple measures. Upstream suppliers should vigorously increase reserves and production, focusing domestically on enhancing output and supply; accelerate gas injection to ensure underground gas storages are fully charged for winter and that coastal LNG storage tanks remain at high levels; and improve and refine emergency response plans, safeguarding their market responsibility for ensuring supply.The State Pipeline Network Group should advance major project construction, closely track milestones, and reverse-schedule tasks to ensure timely commissioning of natural gas infrastructure. Provinces such as Hebei should summarize supply assurance experiences and lessons from previous years, take real responsibility as principal entities ensuring supply, and strengthen supply-demand coordination to guarantee the implementation of relevant national policies. (National Energy Administration)