(Paris) Global gas consumption has seen a historic drop of 1.6% in 2022, in the wake of the war in Ukraine and disruptions in the supply of Russian gas to Europe, according to preliminary data from Cedigaz, the international association for gas information.

Mainly of fossil origin, global gas consumption fell to 4,000 billion m3 “in the context of an unprecedented energy crisis and high inflation,” Cedigaz said in a May 15 statement.

This drop can be described as historic, according to the association joined by AFP on Wednesday, after a record increase of 4.5% in 2021 and a drop of 2% in 2020, a particular year marked by the COVID-19 pandemic. .

But 2022 will remain the year of “the worst natural gas and energy crisis in history due to the Russian invasion of Ukraine”, estimates Cedigaz, which has around 100 members in 40 countries.

“The year 2022 notably saw the largest drop in EU gas consumption in history, down 13% to 353 billion m3”, notes the association.

Significant decreases were also recorded in the CIS countries and Ukraine (-4.6%) as well as in Asia-Oceania (-1.6%), contrasting with increases in North America and the Middle East.

Among the reasons for the decline: a mild winter that reduced “residential-commercial gas demand” in the Northern Hemisphere; China’s sluggish economy and soaring gas prices, which have dampened demand in industry and spurred energy conservation.

While Russian gas played a “predominant role” in European supply, pipeline exports to Europe “slumped to the lowest level seen since the mid-1980s, resulting in a loss of 77 billion m3, i.e. the equivalent of 20% of EU gas consumption in 2021,” explains Cedigaz.

This new situation prompted the continent to diversify its supplies, thanks to imports of gaseous gas from Norway and “a rapid increase in the supply of LNG” (liquefied natural gas) from the United States, delivered by ship.

LNG constituted 32% of European gas supply in 2022, compared to 19% in 2021 and 2020.

In this context, global gas production remained stable. “The strong loss of Russian gas sales was compensated by a strong production growth”, in the Middle East (14 billion m3) and especially in the United States (41 billion m3).

The share of the United States in world gas production has fallen from 24% to 25% between 2021 and 2022, Russia from 18% to 15.5%.

Net international LNG flows will have “exceeded pipeline flows for the first time in 2022”, with LNG’s share increasing to 51% (46% in 2021).

But the “notable expansion in LNG trade (4.7%)” failed to “compensate for a historic and huge contraction (-12.7%) in pipeline trade.” In total, international gas trade fell by 4.7% to 1016 billion m3.