Denmark Maintains Gas Output in 2015
Denmark’s energy consumption decreased by 1% year-on-year to 712 petajoules (PJ) in 2015, its lowest since recording began in the 1970s, said the Danish Energy Agency (DEA) this week.
Danish indigenous oil, gas and renewable energy production provided 89% of the country's gross energy consumption in 2015, down from a self-sufficiency of 90% in 2014. Taking just oil and gas together, Denmark continued to be a net exporter with a degree of self-sufficiency of 120% in 2015.
Total primary energy production declined by 2.4% to 664 PJ in 2015. Crude oil production fell by 5.4% to 331 PJ while that of natural gas fell was relatively flat, down just 0.6%, to 173 PJ last year (4.354bn m3). Renewable energy production grew by 2.8% to 143 PJ.
Net imports of electricity into Denmark last year were at their highest since 1991. This and increased Danish wind power production meant that electricity generated from conventional power declined last year. As a result, Danish consumption of coal fell by 31% in 2015, back to 1970s levels, although oil, natural gas and renewable energy increased by 3.5%, 1.4% and 2.1% respectively.
The official statement for greenhouse gas emissions is published by the Danish Centre for Environment and Energy, but DEA said that the fall in coal consumption and rise in net power imports meant that Danish emissions of CO2 declined. Its data are available here.
More detailed Danish gas trade data were also published by DEA. Net exports of 1.454bn m3 split out into 2.078bn m3 gross exports (871mn m3 to Germany, 769mn m3 to Sweden and 437mn m3 to Netherlands) and 0.624bn m3 imports (517mn m3 from Norway and 107mn m3 from Germany). Offshore flaring of 84mn m3 – the equivalent of 1.9% of production – was in line with recent years.
Denmark issued 16 new exploration licences on April 6 with the aim of extending its self-sufficiency in petroleum out into the future.
Mark Smedley