Baku, Azerbaijan, Oct.4
By Leman Zeynalova – Trend:
EU gas consumption in the second quarter of 2019 showed a sharp upturn, increasing by more than 20 percent year-on-year, which was the biggest increase since the fourth quarter of 2016, Trend reports citing the European Commission.
In absolute numbers, the quarterly gas consumption in Q2 2019 amounted to an estimated 102.7 bcm, in comparison to 85.3 bcm in Q2 2018, reads the report of the European Commission.
Gas-fired electricity generation showed a measurable increase in Q2 2019 in year-on-year comparison in many European countries; being the main contributor to the increase in gas use in the EU.
In the second quarter of 2019, the biggest year-on-year increase in gas consumption could be observed in Slovakia (70 percent, representing a volume of 0.8 bcm in Q2 2019). Gas consumption increased in all EU Member States, with the exception of Malta, where it fell by 40 percent, though the total consumption was only 0.04 bcm in Q2 2019.
In Denmark, Sweden and Hungary the quarterly gas consumption increased by more than 40 percent in year-on-year comparison, probably owing to the fact that these countries have significant gas-fired electricity generation capacities to put in operation. Among the biggest consumers, in France the consumption went up by 37 percent, in Germany by 22 percent, in Italy by 21 percent, and in Spain and the Netherlands by 18 percent.
In absolute numbers, gas consumption in Q2 2019 increased by in the Germany (3.4 bcm), Italy (2.7 bcm), France (2.4 bcm) the UK (1.5 bcm), the Netherlands (1.4 bcm), Spain (1.3 bcm). These countries altogether represented an increase of 12.6 bcm, representing almost three quarters of the total growth in gas consumption in the EU compared to Q2 2018.
In the first half of 2019 gas consumption in the EU went up by 4.2 percent (11.4 bcm) compared to the same quarter of 2018. The biggest increase in absolute numbers could be observed in Germany (4.6 bcm), while in the UK consumption decreased by more than 1 bcm (3.4 percent).
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