BAKU, Azerbaijan, Dec.3. Energy consumption will see its second year of sluggish growth in 2023, Trend reports Dec.3 with reference to the Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU).
“With the global economy slowing and energy prices remaining high, total energy consumption across the 69 countries covered by EIU’s Industry service will rise by just 1.3 percent in 2023. This will be the second consecutive year of sluggish consumption growth. In 2022 we estimate that demand grew by only 0.9 percent, amid record-high prices and a contraction in gas and oil supplies from Russia. A reduction in energy supplies is also likely in 2023, as OPEC+ members are willing to cut production to prevent oil prices from dropping too far. Oil and gas output from Russia is also expected to fall further, with EU sanctions on oil entering full force by end-2022. Despite pricing pressures from supply side issues, fears of a global recession are pulling oil prices down. We forecast an average price for Brent crude of US$89.6/barrel (b) in 2023, down from US$91.7/b previously,” reads the latest EIU report.
The company says global natural gas consumption will remain flat in 2023 as it continues to decline in Europe (-1.7%) and remains flat in North America, offsetting gains in the rest of the world.
“We do not expect gas consumption in Europe (excluding Russia) to return to pre-war levels during our forecast period of 2022-31. However, gas demand in Asia will rise by 2.4% in 2023, with the region on track to become the largest global market for natural gas (surpassing North America) by 2027. Coal consumption will benefit from increased policy focus on energy security, growing for the third consecutive year in 2023, although only marginally. Oil consumption will grow by 1.4%, mainly supported by Asia where usage will expand by 2.9%. On the contrary, oil demand in Europe will contract by 1% as economic activity slows down and the EU embargo on Russian oil imports becomes fully effective.”
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