INS: Primary energy consumption up 2.5pct in 2017; energy products imports up 3.7pct, domestic consumption up 5.5pct

Primary energy production increased by 2.5 per cent in 2017 compared with 2016, while imports of energy products climbed 3.7 per cent and gross domestic energy consumption increased by 5.5 per cent, according to data published on Thursday by the National Institute of Statistics (INS). 

The final energy consumption recorded a growth of 4.3 per cent compared to 2016. 

The available energy resources increased in 2017 compared to 2016 by 1.178 billion tonnes in oil equivalent (toe), representing +2.8 per cent, due to the growth recorded on both the primary energy production and in the imports of energy resources. 

Among the primary energy resources, the ones referring to natural gas recorded the highest growth (+445,000 toe, +4.3 per cent, respectively), followed by import oil products (+389,000 toe, representing +13.5 per cent). A growth was also recorded in the coal resources, exclusively coke (+249,000 toe, +4.9 per cent). 

The primary energy production from 2017, of 25,417 million toe increased by 619,000 toe compared to the year 2016 and continued to maintain the significant weight in the total resources of energy, representing 58.6 per cent of them. 

The most important growth was recorded in the production of usable natural gas (+746,000 toe), representing +9.5 per cent compared with the previous year. 

The primary electricity production recorded a decline by 10.5 per cent compared to the previous year (-243,000 toe). Also a drop was recorded in the crude oil production (-166,000 toe, representing -4.5 per cent). 

The energy products import increased by 3.7 per cent compared to last year, mainly due to the increase in imports of oil products (+389,000 toe) and crude oil (+286,000 toe). Usable natural gas imports and coal (including coke) dropped by 226,000 toe, 39,000 toe respectively. 

The final energy consumption increased in 2017 by 952,000 toe (+4.3 per cent) compared to 2016. The final energy consumption in industry (including constructions) increased by 106,000 toe (+1.7 per cent), mainly due to those industrial sector that are the largest energy resources consumers, such as the chemical and pharmaceutical industries, the rubber and plastics industries (+57,000 toe) and the metallic constructions industry, machines and equipment producers (+47,000 toe), whose cumulated energy consumptions represented 30.5 per cent of th final consumption in the industry (including constructions). In metallurgy, the final energy consumption dropped by 48,000 toe, 2.8 per cent compared to last year. 

Energy exports (including by shipping) dropped compared to 2016 by 321,000 toe (-5.2 per cent). 

The gross domestic energy consumption per head stood at 1,705 kg of oil equivalent in 2017.