Each month in 2022 managed to reduce Russian gas imports used to meet domestic consumption compared to the same month in 2021
Natural gas consumption decreased in December in Greece, as it was 5.05 TWh, i.e. the second lowest after 2019 for the corresponding month in the last 6 years. At the same time, consumption for the entire year reached 56.5 TWh, reduced by 19.2% compared to 2021.
Furthermore, according to Green Tank data, LNG imports via Revythoussa increased by 54% compared to 2021, while in December they ranked first in total gas imports, with a 72% share.
More generally, according to the “observatory” on trends in gas consumption and imports – December 2022 based on the latest available DESFA data in the first five months (August-December) of the eight-month period of reducing fossil gas consumption set by the European Union, Greece is at -18.2% compared to the five-year average, thus exceeding the European target of -15%, and at -31% compared to the same period in 2021.
Despite a small increase in Russian gas imports in December, 2022 ended with a 68.3% decrease in Russian imports compared to 2021.
In more detail, according to the latest available data from DESFA (until December 2022):
The month of December
In December 2022, the 5th month of the eight-month period where the country has to reduce its gas use according to its European obligations, the total domestic consumption was 5.05 TWh, the second lowest after 2019 for the month of December in the last 6 years. The overall decrease of almost 1.5 TWh in December compared to the same month in 2021 came almost equally from power generation (-0.73 TWh) and distribution networks (-0.71 TWh) and much less from industry (-0.06 TWh).
Cumulative performance and the European target of -15%
Due to the continued reduction in consumption and in December, cumulatively in the first five months of the eight-month reduction period decided by the EU-27, Greece with a total consumption of 20.4 TWh “caught” and exceeded the -15% reduction target not only in relation to the corresponding period last year but also in relation to the five-year average (21.2 TWh).
More specifically, the cumulative consumption of the five months August-December was 4.55 TWh lower than the average of the same five months of the five years and resulted mainly from the drastic limitation of gas use in industry (-2.2 TWh) and electricity generation (-1.6 TWh ).
In terms of percentage changes, the country in the five months of August-December 2022 reduced its total gas consumption by 30.8% compared to the same period of 2021, far exceeding the reduction target corresponding to the exception that Greece took in the relevant European agreement. For the third consecutive month since the start of the reduction period in August, Greece is on track to achieve the -15% target, marking a cumulative percentage reduction of 18.2% compared to the average of the corresponding five months of the five-year period 2017-2021.
In addition, all end uses show significant decreases compared to the same period in 2021. Industry leads (-59.7%), followed by distribution networks (-31.9%) and power generation (-27.6%). End-use trends are also in line with the five-year average, with industry, distribution networks and power generation showing decreases of 71.1%, 18.2% and 8.9%, respectively.
Consumption in 2022
Cumulatively for the whole of 2022, natural gas consumption was 56.5 TWh, 13.4 TWh lower than in 2021 (-19.2%), essentially returning to 2019 levels (55.4 TWh). December was among ten months in 2022, and the ninth in a row where a decrease was observed compared to the same month in 2021 (January, April-December).
In terms of the distribution of gas consumption in end uses in 2022, the share of electricity generation was significantly strengthened, reaching 73.5%. In second place are the distribution networks with 21.5% and finally the industry with a share of less than 5%. This is a significant redistribution compared to 2021 where the shares of power generation, distribution networks and industry were 68.7%, 18.8% and 12.6%, respectively. This redistribution came about mainly due to the very large reduction in the use of fossil gas by industry combined with the overall reduction in consumption, thus boosting the percentage of electricity generation.
Natural gas inlet flows from the 4 inlet ports
In terms of natural gas flows from the country’s 4 gateways, in December 2022 the liquefied natural gas (LNG) arriving at Agia Triada was 35% more compared to December 2021 and was by far the main source of gas for the country with 3.9 TWh and a share of 72% of the total natural gas flows that Greece imported in December.
On the contrary, imports of Russian gas from Sidirokastro, which cover domestic consumption, decreased by more than 2/3 (-67.3%). They amounted to only 0.73 TWh, however increased compared to the previous three months when they were practically zero[1].
Imports from TAP via Nea Mesimvria decreased significantly (-52.7%) contributing only 0.59 TWh, while imports from Turkey via Kipi (0.22 TWh) also decreased by 8.9%.
Cumulatively for the whole of 2022 Russian gas imports covering domestic consumption decreased by 68.3% compared to the same period in 2021. Thus, with 8.85 TWh and a share of 14.3% among the four entry gates, Russian gas intended for domestic consumption fell to third place from first place in 2021 with a share of 39.7%. In contrast, LNG imports via the Holy Trinity moved into first place reaching 38.08 TWh, an increase of 54% compared to 2021, thus gaining a share of 61.5%. Azeri gas imports from TAP showed a decrease of 7.5% with 12.6 TWh (20.3% share), moving to the second place for 2022. Finally, a large decrease of 39.7% was noted by the cumulative gas imports from the fourth quantitative source, Kipis, which amounted to only 2.43 TWh (3.9% share).
Comparison with the European Union
Based on the latest available Eurostat data on monthly gas consumption in the EU-27 Member States from January to November 2022[2]Greece reduced its consumption by 18.7% compared to the same period in 2021 and climbed two places in the relative ranking compared to the previous month, to be in 11th place, 6 places higher than the EU average- 27 (-12.8%).
An improvement was also noted in relation to the 5-year average where Greece in November showed for the first time in 2022 reduced consumption (-3.2%). However, this performance is still one of the worst in the EU-27 (5th from the bottom behind Slovakia, Malta, Spain and Ireland).
Rate of dependence on Russian gas
Greece is less dependent on Russian gas for the first ten months of 2022 compared to the European Union average.
Each month of 2022 managed to reduce Russian gas imports used to cover domestic consumption compared to the same month in 2021, much more than the corresponding European average. Thus cumulatively up to October, Greece reduced Russian gas imports by 65.6% compared to the same period of 2021, while the corresponding EU-27 average was 24.2%.
RES-EMP
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