BUENOS AIRES, Oct 6 (Reuters) - European natural gas demand declined 7 percent in 2009 and will likely edge only slightly higher next year, E.ON Ruhrgas Chief Executive Officer Bernhard Reutersberg said on Tuesday.
Gas demand was slammed by a plunge in industrial activity in the first quarter as the global financial crisis scythed into demand for European exports, Reutersberg told the World Gas Conference.
'The slump in consumption would have been even greater if there had not been increased demand for gas for heating purposes because of relatively low temperatures at the beginning of this year,' Reutersberg said.
'We do not know whether the present unexpected substantial decrease in demand will not be overcome in two to three years time.'
Reutersberg said the slump in European gas demand was leading to a risk of persistent oversupply due to abundant supplies of pipeline gas coming into the continent.
Adding to the challenges facing the European gas market is the dramatic decline in U.S. gas import needs due to the sharp increase in unconventional gas output in North America, something which the global natural gas industry failed to anticipated, Reutersberg said.
Gas produced from so-called tight fields, shale gas and coal bed methane has risen rapidly in recent years in the United States as high prices spurred investments in new technology to access what was previously thought to be noncommercial deposits of gas.
(Reporting by Robert Campbell; Editing by David Gregorio) Keywords: EONRUHRGAS NATURALGAS/DEMAND (matthew.robinson@thomsonreuters.com: +1 646 223 6052; Reuters Messaging: matthew.robinson.reuters.com@reuters.net) COPYRIGHT Copyright Thomson Reuters 2009. All rights reserved. The copying, republication or redistribution of Reuters News Content, including by framing or similar means, is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of Thomson Reuters.
Gas demand was slammed by a plunge in industrial activity in the first quarter as the global financial crisis scythed into demand for European exports, Reutersberg told the World Gas Conference.
'The slump in consumption would have been even greater if there had not been increased demand for gas for heating purposes because of relatively low temperatures at the beginning of this year,' Reutersberg said.
'We do not know whether the present unexpected substantial decrease in demand will not be overcome in two to three years time.'
Reutersberg said the slump in European gas demand was leading to a risk of persistent oversupply due to abundant supplies of pipeline gas coming into the continent.
Adding to the challenges facing the European gas market is the dramatic decline in U.S. gas import needs due to the sharp increase in unconventional gas output in North America, something which the global natural gas industry failed to anticipated, Reutersberg said.
Gas produced from so-called tight fields, shale gas and coal bed methane has risen rapidly in recent years in the United States as high prices spurred investments in new technology to access what was previously thought to be noncommercial deposits of gas.
(Reporting by Robert Campbell; Editing by David Gregorio) Keywords: EONRUHRGAS NATURALGAS/DEMAND (matthew.robinson@thomsonreuters.com: +1 646 223 6052; Reuters Messaging: matthew.robinson.reuters.com@reuters.net) COPYRIGHT Copyright Thomson Reuters 2009. All rights reserved. The copying, republication or redistribution of Reuters News Content, including by framing or similar means, is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of Thomson Reuters.