Gas industry has a long history in Hong Kong. Gas has been widely and popularly used by households and industrial and commercial sectors in Hong Kong. The major types of gas are Towngas and liquefied petroleum gas (LPG). Gas safety has such a great influence on the public that the Hong Kong Government formally implemented the Gas Safety Ordinance in 1991, authorizing Electrical and Mechanical Services Department to regulate gas safety in the importation, manufacture, storage, transport, supply and use of gas in order to enhance the quality of works and manpower in the industry. In recent years, the application of LPG has been extended to taxis and minibuses and it has become a fuel for vehicles. As regards natural gas, it is used for electricity generation now. However, subsequent to its exploitation, it will replace naphtha and become the key feedstock for producing Towngas in future.

Following Hong Kong’s economic development, by the end of 2004, there were seven registered gas suppliers, 3,533 registered gas installers and 432 registered gas contractors in Hong Kong. As for customers, there were approximately two million residential customers and industrial and commercial customers.

Gas application is very popular in Hong Kong. Nowadays, all newly built residential buildings are installed with pipes for gas supply. As regards household applications, the promotion of gas cooking in the past has also been extended to hot water supply and clothes drying. In face of these various changes, apart from supplying the public with suitable and safe gas, practitioners of the Gas industry are also required to provide environmentally friendly and effective service. The skill-based service provided by practitioners in the past has also developed into engineering service. Besides, the application of gas in the industrial and commercial sectors has become diversified. Even though in face of competition from other energy sources like electricity, gas practitioners still give full scope to their creativity and have launched new appliances and applications to the market.

As China opens up the Mainland market, Hong Kong’s Gas industry has actively searched for development opportunity. By the end of 2004, it has totally 29 joint venture city-gas projects in Mainland. Undoubtedly, Hong Kong’s Gas industry is the key operator of Mainland’s downstream market. Given its profound experience, advanced technology and its edge in professional knowledge, Hong Kong’s Gas industry has gained full scope of development in Mainland. The migration of Hong Kong gas practitioners to the Mainland has also become a trend.

Nowadays operatives engaged in Gas industry need to undergo specific training to obtain registered gas installer qualifications from the Electrical and Mechanical Services Department. Similarly, there are also systems for engineer registration. In face of the continuous development of the industry and the increasing market demand on the Gas industry, training and enhancement of the techniques and competency of practitioners affords no delay.