BAKU, Azerbaijan, Nov.9
By Leman Zeynalova – Trend:
In the first nine months of 2021, 55.90 billion cubic metres of natural gas were injected by Snam into the Italian National Transportation Network, an increase of 2.77 billion cubic metres, or 5.2 percent, compared with the corresponding figure of the first nine months of 2020 (53.13 billion cubic meters), Trend reports with reference to the company.
This increase is in line with the growth in demand for natural gas, which had declined in the first nine months of 2020 due to restrictive measures put in place to contain COVID-19 contagion.
The increase in demand for gas (53.14 billion cubic meters; +3.07 billion cubic meters, or 6.1 percent), recorded in all consumption sectors, is mainly attributable to: (i) to the residential and tertiary sector (+1.49 billion cubic meters; +8.5 percent) due to the colder temperatures in the period January-May 2021, characterized by an average daily temperature of approximately 1°C lower than the corresponding period of the previous year; (ii) the industrial sector (+1.20 billion cubic meters, of which approximately 0.7 billion cubic meters concentrated in March and April; +11.3 percent) by virtue of a recovery in industrial production after the sharp drop suffered last year, following the lockdown measures in March and April to contain COVID-19 contagions.
In the period from January to August 2021, the industrial production index grew by 16.1 percent compared with the same period last year, fully recovering pre-COVID volumes; (iii) the thermoelectric sector (+0.35 billion cubic meters; +1.9 percent), due to an increase in demand for electric power compared with the first nine months of 2020, affected by the lockdown measures, as well as the increased use of natural gas in electric power generation. These effects were partly offset by the increase in electricity import flows.
Net of the climate effect, gas demand in temperature-normalized terms was 52.06 billion cubic meters, up by 1.66 billion cubic meters, or 3.3 percent, compared with the corresponding figure of the first nine months of 2020 (50.40 billion cubic meters), as a result of a gradual recovery in the tertiary sector and substantial stability in residential demand, which was still affected by the COVID-19 containment measures, such as the closure of schools and offices in particular.
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