China natural gas

Gas Conversion Cheatsheet

Essential unit bridges for China gas balances, LNG imports, prices, power burn, and emissions. The project-standard conversion uses the IEA China gross heat value.

1 bcm 38,930 TJ 38.93 PJ gross, HHV

Model standard

IEA `TJ gross` to bcm

bcm = TJ gross / 38,930 TJ gross = bcm * 38,930

1 scm 10.814 kWh

Thermal heat input, HHV basis.

1 bcm 36.899 TBtu

Bridge to LNG and gas price units.

1 bcm 0.9298 Mtoe

Oil-equivalent comparison.

1 bcm 35.315 Bcf

Imperial volume bridge.

Core factors

Volume to Energy

From	To	Factor
1 bcm	TJ gross	38,930
1 bcm	PJ gross	38.93
1 bcm	TWh thermal	10.814
1 thousand m3	MMBtu	36.899
1 bcm	Mtce	1.328
1 Mtce	bcm	0.753

Dataset conventions

Common China Rows

JODI `M3`bcm = value / 1,000

JODI `KTONS`Mt = value / 1,000

100 million m3bcm = value / 10

IEA `TJ gross`bcm = value / 38,930

MMscf/dbcm/y = value * 0.01034

mcm/dbcm/y = value * 0.365

LNG shortcuts

Tonne to Gas

1 Mt LNGabout 1.36 bcm

1 bcm gasabout 0.735 Mt LNG

1 Mt LNGabout 50.2 TBtu

1 t LNGabout 50-52 MMBtu

70 kt cargoabout 0.095 bcm

10 bcm/yabout 7.35 mtpa LNG

Use cargo specs when available. LNG density and heat content move the answer.

Price bridges

USD/MMBtu to RMB/m3

USD/m3 = price * 0.0368985 RMB/m3 = price * 0.0368985 * FX USD/MWh thermal = price * 3.41214

USD 82.13RMB/m3

USD 102.66RMB/m3

USD 123.19RMB/m3

Examples use `FX = 7.20`.

Power sector

Electric Output per bcm

45% HHV 4.87 TWh

50% HHV 5.41 TWh

55% HHV 5.95 TWh

60% HHV 6.49 TWh

Do not mix LHV plant efficiencies directly with IEA `TJ gross`. Natural gas LHV is roughly 90% of HHV.

Combustion CO2

Emissions Rules

1 bcm gas1.95 MtCO2

1 Mt LNG2.65 MtCO2

1 TWh electric0.36 MtCO2at 50% HHV efficiency

Combustion only. Upstream methane, liquefaction, shipping, regas, and distribution losses are excluded.

Worked examples

Fast Checks

6,232,455 TJ / 38,930 = 160.1 bcm 229.7 in 100 million m3 / 10 = 22.97 bcm 6.0 Mt LNG * 1.36 = 8.16 bcm USD 10/MMBtu * 0.0368985 * 7.20 = 2.66 RMB/m3

Pitfalls

Keep the Basis Visible

IEA `TJ gross` is HHV/GCV. Many plant efficiencies and some balances use LHV/NCV.
`bcm` is not a fixed energy unit across countries; gas quality changes energy per cubic metre.
Use the project factor for model consistency even when market sources round to `36 TBtu/bcm`, `0.9 Mtoe/bcm`, or `1.38 bcm/Mt LNG`.
Prefer cargo heat content over tonne-to-bcm shortcuts when pricing or reconciling customs data.
JODI `TOTDEMC` is apparent demand; storage injections and withdrawals can separate it from end-use demand.

Sources: local model convention in docs/model.md and scripts/build-sector-data.mjs; IEA China natural gas; IEA-reported China HHV reference used by the project; EIA units; EIA CO2 coefficients.