“双碳”目标下中国城市燃气企业转型升级的探索与实践

Under the "carbon peak and carbon neutrality" ("dual carbon") goals, China's landscape of city gas market is reshaping with the advancement of oil and gas system reform, so it is of significance to study the transformation and development of city gas companies under the new situation. In this paper, from the perspectives of macro trends, policies and regulations, and market structure, the situation faced by city gas companies in China and their exploration and practice during the process of transformation are studied, with common problems analyzed as well. The results show that in an environment that offers opportunities and challenges (e.g. peak gas demand, development of emerging energy technologies, toughening industry supervision, and innovative policies), it is a general trend for city gas companies to transform and upgrade their business. Exploration efforts that have been made by these companies include extending the industrial chain based on their main operations, developing integrated energy business based on natural gas, accelerating business digitization, expanding emerging energy technologies and formats, as well as building and upgrading their core scientific research capabilities. However, they are still restricted by their traditional operational thinking, inadequate strategic development planning, and insufficient support for internal mechanism and systems. It is hence suggested that the positioning of the city gas sector and companies should be clarified, and strategic development plans should be mapped out carefully. More efforts are needed to tap users' demand for multi-category energy products, diversify and expand business range, and accelerate digital transformation. In addition, sustained efforts are required to improve the mechanism and systems, promote transformation and development, and accelerate the construction of an appropriate ecology.