China could soon be freed from over-dependence on imported gas as reports by the Financial Times on Monday cited aggressive initiatives coming from Beijing, allegedly pushing for the expeditious development of the country's huge gas deposits.

The newspaper said that a study conducted by industry consultant Wood Mackenzie showed that once the country's gas reserves have been fully tapped, China would start to require less liquefied natural gas (LNG) commencing in 2020 with no further gas transported by pipeline afterwards, which should be sustained in the next decades to come.

The Mackenzie paper declared that "beyond 2020, we expect to see significant volumes of indigenous unconventional gas entering the market and meeting much of China's incremental demand," which should come as unwelcome news for international energy suppliers such as BG, Royal Dutch Shell, BP and ExxonMobil.

The world's major energy firms are looking up to China in boosting their LNG operations and the country's decision to enhance and tap its own gas sources should deliver a big blow on such aspirations especially that the new reports has underscored that Beijing is also bent in identifying and developing new energy sources such as shale gas and coal gasification.

The Financial Times report said that China is set to reduce its LNG requirements to eight million tonnes by 2020 as against to its current annual usage of 16 million tonnes as Wood Mackenzie predicted that LNG sellers could be scampering "to conclude deals with Chinese buyers in the next two or three years, or risk seeing China disappear as a potential foundation buyer for their projects."

However, the consultancy firm also conceded that Beijing "will require partnerships and technology in the initial phase of development," which should create a window of opportunity for qualified international companies with expertise on shale gas and coal gasification.