Spatial pattern and driving factors for interprovincial natural gas consumption in China: Based on SNA and LMDI

Abstract

In China’s energy transformation strategy, natural gas is the "bridge fuel" to cleaner production. This paper innovatively uses the classic method in sociology, social network analysis (SNA), and reveals the network characteristics and spatial pattern of interprovincial natural gas consumption in China. Zhejiang is the center of China’s interprovincial natural gas consumption network, and the network can be clustered into four blocks: net spillover block, net beneficial block, brokers block, bidirectional spillover block. In addition, LMDI (logarithmic mean Divisia index) quantified the driving factors of China’s natural gas consumption in each province. Overall, economic effect and fossil energy structure effect are the major driving factors of natural gas consumption, the energy intensity effect is one of the major restraining factors of natural gas consumption. Matching the driving factors of each province with the block model, and in more detail, economic effect is the major driving factor of natural gas consumption in the net spillover block, followed by spatial expansion effect. In the bidirectional spillover block, the fossil energy structural effect is the major driving factor of the natural gas consumption. Accordingly, we put forward the general measures and specific measures to protect the natural gas consumption.