By Sebastine Obasi

Nigeria, India and Norway, recorded the largest volumetric decline in gas production, the Statistical Review of World Energy 2014, has revealed, amid global production growth of 1.1percent, well below the 10-year average of 2.5 percent.

The Review stated that growth was below average in all regions except Europe and Eurasia.

The United States which recorded +1.3 percent remained the world’s leading producer, while Russia (+2.4 percent) and China (+9.5 percent) recorded larger growth increments in 2013. Nigeria, with -16.4 percent, India (-16.3 percent), and Norway (-5 percent) recorded the largest volumetric declines, it further stated.

As regards consumption, the Review stated that world natural gas consumption grew by 1.4 percent, below the historical average of 2.6 percent. And as was the case for primary energy, consumption growth was above average in the Organisation for Economic Co-operation, OECD countries (+1.8 percent) and below average outside the OECD (+1.1 percent).

Growth was below average in every region except North America. China (+10.8 percent) and the US (+2.4 percent) recorded the largest growth increments in the world, together accounting for 81 percent of global growth. India (-12.2 percent) recorded the largest volumetric decline in the world, while EU gas consumption fell to the lowest level since 1999. Globally, natural gas accounted for 23.7 percent of primary energy consumption.

The Review also stated that global natural gas trade grew by 1.8 percent in 2013, well below the historical average of 5.2 percent.

Pipeline shipments grew by 2.3 percent, driven by a 12 percent increase in net Russian exports, which offset declines in Algeria (-17.9 percent), Norway (-4.5 percent) and Canada (-5.5 percent).

Among importers, growth in Germany (+14 percent) and China (+32.4 percent) more than offset a continued decline in the US (-10.9 percent). Global LNG trade rebounded by 0.6 percent in 2013. Increased imports in South Korea (+10.7 percent), China (+22.9 percent), and South and Central American importers (+44.7 percent) were partially offset by lower imports in Spain (-35.6 percent), the United Kingdom (-31.9 percent) and France (-19.4 percent).

According to the Review, Qatar remained the largest LNG exporter (32 percent of global exports), and accounted for the largest growth increment (+2.7 percent). LNG’s share of global gas trade declined slightly to 31.4 percent and international natural gas trade accounted for 30.9 percent of global consumption.

With regard to other fuels, it stated that coal consumption grew by 3 percent in 2013, well below the 10-year average of 3.9 percent but it is still the fastest-growing fossil fuel. Coal’s share of global primary energy consumption reached 30.1 percent, the highest since 1970. Consumption outside the OECD rose by a below-average 3.7 percent, but still accounted for 89 percent of global growth.

China recorded the weakest absolute growth since 2008 but the country still accounted for 67 percent of global growth. India experienced its second largest volumetric increase on record and accounted for 21 percent of global growth. OECD consumption increased by 1.4 percent, with increases in the US and Japan offsetting declines in the EU.

Global coal production was said to have grown by 0.8 percent, the weakest growth since 2002. Indonesia (+9.4 percent) and Australia (+7.3 percent) offset a decline in the US (-3.1 percent), while China (+1.2 percent) recorded the weakest volumetric growth in production since 2000.

Reflecting on the nuclear and hydroelectric energy, the Review stated that global nuclear output grew by 0.9 percent, the first increase since 2010. Increases in the US, China and Canada were partly offset by declines in South Korea, Ukraine, Spain and Russia.

Japanese output fell by 18.6 percent and has fallen by 95 percent since 2010. Nuclear output accounted for 4.4 percent of global energy consumption, the smallest share since 1984.

For global hydroelectric, its output grew by a below-average 2.9 percent. Led by China and India, the Asia-Pacific region accounted for 78 percent of global growth. Drought conditions reduced output in Brazil by 7 percent and in Finland, Norway and Sweden by a combined 14.5 percent. Hydroelectric output accounted for 6.7 percent of global energy consumption.

The Review also stated that renewable energy sources in power generation as well as transport continued to increase in 2013, reaching a record 2.7 percent of global energy consumption, up from 0.8 percent a decade ago.

It explained that renewable energy used in power generation grew by 16.3 percent and accounted for a record 5.3 percent of global power generation. China recorded the largest incremental growth in renewables, followed by the US, while growth in Europe’s leading players – Germany, Spain and Italy was below average.

Globally, wind energy (+20.7 percent) once again accounted for more than half of renewable power generation growth and solar power generation grew even more rapidly (+33 percent), but from a smaller base. Global biofuels production grew by a below-average 6.1 percent (80,000 b/doe), driven by increases in the two largest producers: Brazil (+16.8 percent) and the US (+4.6 percent), the Review stated.