An empirical analysis on regional natural gas market of China from a spatial pattern and social network perspective

Highlights: • This article analyzes the construction plan of regional natural gas market in China. • We builded a comprehensive quality evaluation system for the natural gas market. • We used the modified spatial gravity model to calculate the interprovincial natural gas spatial influence. • We used centrality and structural holes to analyse individual network attributes. • We applied edge-core structure and block model to analyse the overall network structure. Coordinating the relationship between the national pipeline network company and the provincial natural gas company is the most crucial contradiction in China's natural gas market reform. This paper innovatively incorporates the comprehensive evaluation method, modified spatial gravity model, and social network analysis method to investigate the regional natural gas market to solve this dilemma. The result of the case study is as follows. (1) The development of the natural gas market in China's provinces is uneven, among which resourceful provinces and eastern provinces are relatively strong. (2) The densely connected areas of the natural gas market are mainly concentrated in the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region, the Yangtze-River-Delta region, and the Sichuan-Chongqing region. (3) Our work can clarify the node attributes and different efficacy of provinces. The core provinces all belong to the net spillover block, and they are located at key positions and roles in the obtained spatial correlation network. (4) Market participants, commodity diversification and openness are the prominent factors influencing the proposed spatial correlation network. This paper's major achievement is the reasonable division of five regional natural gas markets. The conclusion can help policymakers clarify the overall natural gas market spatial pattern and provinces' market potential and functions.