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| WHAT IT IS |
Natural
gas is a fuel that is formed underground. It is composed
principally of methane, a colourless and odourless hydrocarbon.
For this reason natural
gas is sometimes referred to as "methane".
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| USES |
Natural
gas is used domestically
for cooking, space heating and hot water production. Industrially
it is used to generate electric power and heat and is
also used as fuel for low environmental impact buses and
vehicles in the transport
sector.
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| THE ADVANTAGES |
The use of natural gas as an energy source presents many
ecological advantages. Burning methane produces very little
pollution and less carbon dioxide than other fossil fuels.
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| TRANSPORT |
Europe does not have enough gas reserves to meet the needs
of its member countries and therefore imports gas from
the major producers. For this purpose a natural gas transmission
network with a total length of around 185,000 km has been
developed in the past decades. The European interconnection
network, in continuous expansion, extends from the North
and Baltic Seas to the Mediterranean and from the Atlantic
to Eastern Europe and Siberia.
Natural
gas is transported to Europe not only through large
international pipelines but also in
liquefied form as LNG (liquefied natural gas) by
LNG carriers, to a number of specialised terminals in
Europe.
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| THE MARKET |
The European context* sees a relentless increase in energy
consumption. In particular, analysis of the current data
together with the market forecasts** shows a scenario
that can be characterised as follows:
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the European gas demand
is expected to grow from the present 558
billion cubic metres per annum to 720 bcm per annum
in 2020; |
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at the same time a decline
in gas production is anticipated in Europe
(from the present 330 to approximately 250 billion
cubic metres per annum in 2020); |
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today, Europe mostly depends on imports
from Russia (approximately
150 billion cubic metres) and Algeria
(approximately 60 billion cubic metres). |
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This means that Europe's dependence
on imports will continue to rise, from 45% of its
requirements at present to approximately 65% by 2020.
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* Reference here is to the so-called
EU 30, which includes, in addition to the member states
of the European Union, also Norway, Switzerland and Turkey.
** Sources: IEA World Energy Outlook, BP Statistical Review,
ENI, IHS, CERA, Edison |
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