UK 2Q Imports Fall: Qatar Down, Russia Up
UK gas demand and production in 2Q 2018 were down slightly on the same period last year; but the main changes were in gas trade, according to latest provisional figures from the UK government.
Overall gas supply was 171.2 TWh (15.9bn m3), down 2.7% year on year, according to the Department of Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (Beis) in data released September 27. Demand was also 2.7% lower at 170 TWh, of which gas used in power generation fell by 0.5% to 66.3 TWh, in line with a reduction in electricity demand, with industrial and domestic use also down.
After near-record UK imports by pipeline at the start of the year, overall UK gas imports fell by 11% year on year to 84.8 TWh in 2Q 2018, the main import source remaining Norway; while UK gas exports fell to 21 TWh – the lowest in 20 years.
LNG imports in 2Q slumped by 41% to 15.2 TWh (1.4bn m3 gas equivalent), with imports from Qatar down by almost two-thirds – presumably owing to higher prices in Asia. Qatari LNG accounted for only 57% of LNG imports in 2Q 2018 (year ago 90%), whereas Trinidadian LNG was up by more than a third, and more LNG also came from the US and Russia.
Russian cargoes from Yamal accounted for 3.2% of UK LNG imports in 2Q 2018, said Beis, so about 45mn m3 of gas - or under half a standard 175,000 m³ cargo of Yamal LNG. A year ago, Yamal had yet to start exports, so none was imported to Britain.
UK indigenous gas production in 2Q 2018 was down 6.7% year on year at 112.1 TWh (10.4bn m3), after robust production last year, with cushion gas extracted from the Rough storage facility continuing to feed into production figures.
Gas meanwhile remained the dominant fuel used in UK power generation in 2Q2018, reaching 42% (from 41.3% in 2Q2017) due to declines in nuclear and coal generation - to respectively 21.7% and 1.6% - while renewables accounted for 31.7% and oil/other 3%.