The future of gaseous fuels in Hong Kong

There are three types of gaseous fuel in Hong Kong. Natural gas, exclusively used for power generation and imported under a 20-year contract, accounted for 16 per cent of total primary energy requirements in 1998. Towngas, manufactured from naphtha, and liquefied petroleum gas are the two other kinds, accounting for about 9.5 per cent of the final energy requirement in recent years. The first part of this paper analyses the competition between these two gaseous fuels since 1984, elucidating in detail how towngas came to dominate the gaseous fuel market. The government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region would like to boost the use of natural gas in Hong Kong, on account of its environmental benefits and cost competitiveness. It is considering the possibility of using natural gas to replace the other two gaseous fuels and adopting the common carrier system, in order to spur competition in the gaseous fuel market. The second part of the study evaluates the feasibility of converting to natural gas and opening up the pipeline system, putting forth a rough schedule for the whole process. (author)