BAKU, Azerbaijan, July 13
By Leman Zeynalova – Trend:
The share of liquefied natural gas (LNG) in the total extra-EU gas imports, as multiple sources (ENTSO-G, Refinitiv) show, was the highest in Q1 2020 in the last six years, Trend reports with reference to the European Commission.
In Q1 2020, similarly to the preceding three quarters, LNG confirmed its second place in EU external import gas sources, ensuring around 28 percent of the total imports, 8 percentage points up compared to Q1 2019, reads the Gas Report released by the European Commission.
“Given that Russia, Norway and Algeria are also active on the LNG market, and LNG imports are increasing in the EU, it is worth to look at the combined imports of pipeline gas and LNG from these countries and to calculate the share of import sources in this way, too. The share of Russia within total extra-EU gas imports (pipeline and LNG together) amounted to 46 percent in Q1 2020, split by 40 percent of pipeline imports and 6 percent of LNG, indicating that Russia is becoming a more and more important actor in European LNG imports, not only in the traditional pipeline gas supply,” reads the report.
According to Eurostat, net imports decreased by 6 percent in the first quarter of 2020 (year-on-year), mainly driven by 5 percent reduction (year-on-year) of the EU gas demand. Net imports in different EU countries showed a high variation in Q1 2020, ranging from a decrease of 46% (in Austria) to an increase of 217 percent (in Malta, though by marginal value, 0.1 bcm) in year-on-year comparison. Among big gas consumer countries net imports decreased in the France (by 25 percent), Poland (12 percent), in Italy (9 percent), Germany (8 percent) and Spain (4 percent). Net imports increased slightly in Greece (by 4 percent) and Romania (1 percent).
Russia remained the top gas supplier of the EU, however, the share of Russian pipeline gas in the extra-EU gas imports fell to 40 percent in the first quarter of 2020, which was the lowest in the last six years. In Q1 2019 the share of Russian pipeline gas imports was almost 49 percent.
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