BAKU, Azerbaijan, Dec. 24
By Leman Zeynalova – Trend:
In the third quarter of 2019 EU gas production was approximately 25.2 bcm, 9 percent (2.6 bcm) less than in the same quarter of 2018, Trend reports citing European Commission’s Gas Market Report.
“While in July and August 2019 gas output was in the 2014-2018 range, in September the monthly production was lower than in any September month in the last five years. In the Netherlands natural gas production in Q3 2019 decreased by 16 percent (1.5 bcm) and in the UK it decreased by 4 percent (0.4 bcm) in year-on-year comparison,” reads the report.
Gas output decreased by 4 percent in Romania and Germany (by 0.1 bcm in both countries), in Italy it went down by 11 percent (by 0.2 bcm) and in Denmark by 25 percent (0.3 bcm). In Poland however, production increased by 8 percent, (0.1 bcm). Norway produced 24.1 bcm gas in Q3 2019, 8 percent (by 2.1 bcm) less compared to Q3 2018, primarily owing to maintenance works on some important gas producing field infrastructure, for example, the biggest Troll field and the Kollsnes processing plant.
In the first three quarters of 2019 natural gas production in the EU amounted to 82.7 bcm, 8.2 percent less than in the same period of 2018, which meant in absolute numbers a decline in production of 7.4 bcm. The six biggest EU gas producers were the UK (28.8 bcm), the Netherlands (26.2 bcm), Romania (7.5 bcm), Germany (4.3 bcm), Italy (3.7 bcm) and Denmark (2.7 bcm), having a combined share of 88 percent in the total EU gas production.
On 10 September 2019 the Dutch economic minister announced that by mid-2022 gas production from Europe's largest onshore field (Groningen) will be finished .
In the entire gas year (ending on 30 September 2019) gas production amounted to 17.5 bcm, which was less than the production cap initially set by the government (19.4 bcm). Moreover, the production for the 2019 gas year (the period from 1 October 2019 to 30 September 2020) was revised to 11.8 bcm, significantly down from the previously set target for this period (15.4 bcm). Operation would completely stop only in 2026, as during exceptionally cold winters some withdrawals might be needed from the Groningen field. Beside the Groningen field producing low calorific gas (L-gas), the production on other Dutch fields (producing high calorific or H-gas) also shows a decreasing trend, implying that once the biggest gas producer country in the EU will have to rely on imports, mainly in the form of LNG and pipeline gas from Norway and Russia. Since 2018 the Netherlands is already a net gas importer.
---
Follow the author on Twitter: @Lyaman_Zeyn