The demand for natural gas in the European Union has been decreasing for the last two years. In 2023, it fell by 7.4 percent on an annual basis, after an annual decrease of 13.3 percent was recorded in 2022 compared to 2021. This is according to the latest data published today by the European statistics agency Eurostat .
Last year, blue fuel consumption in the EU amounted to 12.72 million terajoules, expressed in gross thermal value. This is its lowest level since 2008, when such statistics began to be kept.
The decline in demand for natural gas is partly due to the decision to reduce the consumption of blue fuel in the European Union, adopted by the Council of the EU in 2022. It is part of the measures to reduce dependence on Russian natural gas supplies, adopted after the beginning of the military invasion of the rulers in Moscow in Ukraine. Russia limited gas supplies to EU countries, and gas prices rose on international markets, analysts recall.
In April 2024, the consumption of natural gas in Bulgaria reached 8098.5 terajoules, according to preliminary data published by Eurostat. In March, the demand for blue fuel in our country reached 10,753.9 terajoules, and in February - 9812.1 terajoules.
In 2023, the consumption of natural gas has fallen in the largest countries in the European Union. Germany was the leading consumer of blue fuel in the EU last year. Its demand reached 2.96 million terajoules, which represents a drop of -3.8 percent compared to 2022. Followed by Italy (2.35 million terajoules - a drop of -10 percent) and France (1.36 million terajoules - a drop of -11.7 percent).
In 21 countries of the European Union, including Bulgaria, the demand for blue fuel increased in 2023 compared to 2022. The increase in consumption was most significant in Finland (+25.6 percent) Sweden (+11.1 percent) and Poland (+5.3 percent).