Gas consumption down by 17% year on year in the period July - October
The decline in natural gas consumption from July through October 2022 is partly due to high natural gas prices. A voluntary target for reduction by country has been in place since August. EU countries have agreed to reduce their demand from August 2022 to March 2023 by at least 15 percent relative to their historical consumption (average consumption over five previous years). In the period August through October 2022, national gas consumption was down by well over 30 percent on historical consumption over the years 2017 to 2021 inclusive.
| Maand | National consumption, 2022 (bn m3) | Historical consumption: average over 2017-2021 (bn m3) | EU Natural gas demand reduction target (bn m3) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 4257.00 | 5271.40 | 4480.69 |
| Feb | 3412.00 | 4513.40 | 3836.39 |
| Mar | 3244.00 | 4223.80 | 3590.23 |
| Apr | 2651.00 | 3103.40 | 2637.89 |
| May | 2079.00 | 2731.80 | 2322.03 |
| Jun | 1919.00 | 2315.80 | 1968.43 |
| Jul | 1747.00 | 2423.20 | 2059.72 |
| Aug | 1667.00 | 2350.80 | 1998.18 |
| Sep | 1731.00 | 2565.60 | 2180.76 |
| Oct | 2096.00 | 3147.20 | 2675.12 |
Gas consumption by large industrial companies down
From July to October 2022, large industrial companies in particular consumed less natural gas (-26 percent). The high price of natural gas was a major cause. In particular, companies in the petroleum and chemical industries consumed less. Gas power plants actually consumed more (+30 percent) during the same period.
Liquefied natural gas imports almost double
More natural gas (+15 percent) was imported in the period July to October 2022 than in the same period last year. This was mainly liquefied natural gas (LNG, +192 percent). LNG is brought in by ship, mainly from the United States (52 percent of the total) and Russia (16 percent of the total). A major factor was the commissioning of an LNG terminal off the coast of Eemshaven. One third of total gas imports consists of LNG.
Less gaseous gas was imported in the period July to October 2022, compared to the same period last year. Imports decreased sharply from Norway in particular, by 5 billion m3 (-55 percent). Natural gas exports increased (+6 percent) between July and October compared to the same period last year. More gaseous natural gas was exported to Germany in particular (+47 percent).
| Jaar | Maand | Gaseous gas imports (bn m3) | LNG imports (bn m3) | Gaseous gas exports (bn m3) | LNG exports (bn m3) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | 1 | 3.549 | 1.11 | -3.995 | -0.017 |
| 2020 | 2 | 3.632 | 0.985 | -3.921 | -0.025 |
| 2020 | 3 | 3.49 | 1.171 | -3.827 | -0.041 |
| 2020 | 4 | 3.86 | 1.183 | -3.159 | -0.029 |
| 2020 | 5 | 4.008 | 1.177 | -3.212 | -0.029 |
| 2020 | 6 | 4.437 | 0.337 | -2.364 | -0.151 |
| 2020 | 7 | 3.984 | 0.752 | -2.468 | -0.021 |
| 2020 | 8 | 3.563 | 0.523 | -1.802 | -0.143 |
| 2020 | 9 | 4.711 | 0.316 | -2.172 | -0.133 |
| 2020 | 10 | 3.999 | 0.539 | -3.107 | -0.153 |
| 2020 | 11 | 4.129 | 0.667 | -3.252 | -0.124 |
| 2020 | 12 | 4.217 | 0.346 | -3.702 | -0.047 |
| 2021 | 1 | 5.108 | 0.336 | -5.845 | -0.34 |
| 2021 | 2 | 3.708 | 0.44 | -3.815 | -0.042 |
| 2021 | 3 | 3.959 | 1.226 | -3.905 | -0.026 |
| 2021 | 4 | 3.206 | 1.303 | -3.47 | -0.057 |
| 2021 | 5 | 3.104 | 1.269 | -3.021 | -0.07 |
| 2021 | 6 | 3.502 | 0.665 | -1.805 | -0.061 |
| 2021 | 7 | 3.698 | 0.331 | -2.127 | -0.143 |
| 2021 | 8 | 3.984 | 0.453 | -2.418 | -0.15 |
| 2021 | 9 | 4.129 | 0.72 | -2.43 | -0.138 |
| 2021 | 10 | 3.918 | 0.976 | -3.465 | -0.152 |
| 2021 | 11 | 3.526 | 0.897 | -3.204 | -0.076 |
| 2021 | 12 | 2.863 | 1.169 | -4.225 | -0.043 |
| 2022 | 1 | 3.291 | 1.059 | -3.303 | -0.032 |
| 2022 | 2 | 2.624 | 1.324 | -2.585 | -0.14 |
| 2022 | 3 | 3.391 | 1.44 | -3.266 | -0.024 |
| 2022 | 4 | 3.261 | 1.376 | -2.923 | -0.029 |
| 2022 | 5 | 4.133 | 1.485 | -2.955 | -0.032 |
| 2022 | 6 | 3.851 | 1.508 | -2.5 | -0.11 |
| 2022 | 7 | 3.744 | 1.619 | -2.875 | -0.034 |
| 2022 | 8 | 3.358 | 1.638 | -2.97 | -0.031 |
| 2022 | 9 | 3.489 | 1.936 | -3.24 | -0.026 |
| 2022 | 10 | 3.017 | 2.044 | -4.025 | -0.082 |
| Imports = + Exports = - | |||||
Gas reserves meet European minimum target
At the end of October 2022, the Netherlands had sufficient gaseous gas (91 percent) and liquefied natural gas (71 percent) in storage to meet the EU’s minimum target. Despite lower gas production (0.7 billion m3) and high gas prices, stocks in storage increased by over 4.4 billion m3, compared to October last year. By importing more natural gas and exporting less, and due to lower gas consumption, more natural gas was stored in gas reserves. The Netherlands' gas reserves meet the European Union's standard of a gas storage facility that is at least 80 percent full. For gaseous gas, the storage was 91 percent full, for liquefied gas by 71 percent.
| Jaar | Maand | Netherlands (% ) | Belgium (% ) | Germany (% ) | Europe (% ) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | Jan | 45.88 | 45.01 | 44.99 | 51.51 |
| 2021 | Feb | 30.31 | 29.11 | 31.42 | 36.86 |
| 2021 | Mar | 22.68 | 23.33 | 26.38 | 30.06 |
| 2021 | Apr | 17.93 | 22.93 | 25.71 | 30.04 |
| 2021 | May | 20.67 | 29.67 | 31.04 | 37.69 |
| 2021 | Jun | 29.46 | 41.67 | 41.36 | 47.55 |
| 2021 | Jul | 37.80 | 58.83 | 49.84 | 56.96 |
| 2021 | Aug | 48.21 | 76.61 | 59.62 | 67.41 |
| 2021 | Sep | 58.55 | 86.51 | 67.89 | 74.71 |
| 2021 | Oct | 58.15 | 92.98 | 72.29 | 77.07 |
| 2021 | Nov | 51.78 | 69.95 | 65.12 | 67.77 |
| 2021 | Dec | 32.49 | 60.48 | 53.79 | 53.54 |
| 2022 | Jan | 26.63 | 35.16 | 36.29 | 37.64 |
| 2022 | Feb | 21.18 | 18.97 | 28.39 | 28.98 |
| 2022 | Mar | 20.16 | 12.71 | 26.27 | 26.29 |
| 2022 | Apr | 27.53 | 14.40 | 35.12 | 33.49 |
| 2022 | May | 40.35 | 38.27 | 49.17 | 47.46 |
| 2022 | Jun | 53.93 | 59.11 | 61.22 | 58.30 |
| 2022 | Jul | 67.18 | 76.37 | 69.04 | 69.43 |
| 2022 | Aug | 77.95 | 89.12 | 84.26 | 80.44 |
| 2022 | Sep | 91.36 | 100.00 | 91.48 | 88.69 |
| 2022 | Oct | 91.54 | 100.00 | 98.91 | 94.72 |
Sources
- StatLine - Natural gas balance sheet : supply and consumption
- Website - Gas Infrastructure Europe - AGSI (gie.eu)