UK Gas Output Up in 3Q
UK indigenous gas production in 3Q 2018 increased by 4.8% year-on-year to 8.9mn metric tons of oil equivalent, whereas oil production fell by 1.3% to 12.1mn mt boe, according to provisional data from the UK government’s business and energy department (Beis).
Net 3Q imports into the UK fell by 19.5% to 3.5bn m3 (38 terawatt-hours of gas), comprising 7.6bn m3 gross imports (6.6bn m3 from Norway, down 10.7%, and the rest chiefly as LNG, down 42.7%) and 4.1bn m3 gross exports. Of gross exports, 86% went to Belgium/Netherlands, 11.5% to Ireland, 0.5% to the Isle of Man, and 2% were LNG re-exports.
Indigenous overall UK energy production in 3Q increased by 1.9% year-on-year, with gas, bioenergy, wind and solar output up, but there were falls in output from all other fuels, including nuclear. Overall, UK primary energy consumption fell by 0.6%. The third quarter tends to have much lower consumption than the others, and the 3Q2018 was significantly warmer than usual - dampening household energy demand.
Electricity generation by major power producers in 3Q was down by 0.2% year-on-year, with coal down 14% and gas down 3.2%, whereas renewables were up 14% boosted by strong growth from solar and offshore wind. Gas provided 43.8% of their 3Q electricity generation, nuclear 26.6%, renewables 26.1% (a record quarterly high) and coal just 3%.