India 2nd biggest driver of global energy consumption in 2019

The increase in energy consumption was driven by renewables and natural gas, which together contributed three quarters of the expansion.

India was second biggest growth driver of primary energy consumption in the world, behind China, in 2019 even though it witnessed fall in demand in oil and coal, according to BP Statistical Review released on Wednesday.

Global primary energy consumption growth slowed to 1.3 per cent last year, less than half the rate of growth in 2018 (2.8 per cent), BP said.

The increase in energy consumption was driven by renewables and natural gas, which together contributed three quarters of the expansion.

All fuels grew at a slower rate than their 10-year averages, apart from nuclear.

"By country, China was by far the biggest driver of energy, accounting for more than three quarters of net global growth.

“India and Indonesia were the next largest contributors to growth, while the US and Germany posted the largest declines," it said.

But the growth in 2019 was slower than 2018.

World primary energy consumption rose to 583.90 Exajoules (EJ). India's consumption rose 2.3 per cent to 34.06 EJ. The growth was lower than 5.2 per cent in 2018.

In absolute terms, India's energy consumption was only behind that of China (141.70 EJ) and US (94.65 EJ).

"Growth in energy markets slowed in 2019 in line with weaker economic growth and a partial unwinding of some of the one-off factors that boosted energy demand in 2018.

“This slowdown was particularly evident in the US, Russia and India, each of which exhibited unusually strong growth in 2018," it said.

The energy consumption is made up of oil, natural gas, coal, electricity and renewables.

Global oil consumption grew by 0.9 million barrels per day (bpd), or 0.9 per cent, slightly lower than the 10-year average of 1.3 per cent per annum.

India posted the third biggest rise in oil consumption in the world at 159,000 bpd, just behind 681,000 bpd of China and 183,000 bpd of Iran.

World coal consumption fell 0.6 per cent.

"Growth in India, usually a key driver of coal consumption, was only 0.3 per cent (0.1 EJ) - its lowest since 2001," BP said.

Hydroelectric consumption rose by 0.8 per cent, below its 10-year average of 1.9 per cent per annum.

"Growth was led by China (0.6 EJ), Turkey (0.3 EJ) and India (0.2 EJ). The US and Vietnam saw the biggest declines (both -0.2 EJ)," it said.

Releasing the 69th annual edition of the BP Statistical Review of World Energy, BP said this year's edition - which collects and analyses energy data for 2019 - highlights the global energy trends emerging prior to the current COVID-19 pandemic.

"While some aspects - such as the continuing strong growth in renewables - offer encouragement that the world is moving onto a more sustainable path, others - including continuing persistent growth in carbon emissions - underline the scale of the challenge for the world to reach net zero," it said.

Bernard Looney, CEO, BP said: "Net zero can be achieved by 2050. The zero-carbon energies and technologies exist today - the challenge is to use them at pace and scale, and I remain optimistic that we can make this happen."

Carbon emissions from energy use grew by 0.5 per cent in 2019, only partially unwinding the unusually strong growth of 2.1 per cent seen in 2018.

Average annual growth in carbon emissions over 2018 and 2019 was greater than its 10-year average.

Renewables contributed their largest increase in energy terms on record (3.2 EJ).

They accounted for over 40 per cent of the global growth in primary energy last year, more than any other fuel.

Their share in power generation (10.4 per cent) also surpassed nuclear for the first time.

Natural gas consumption increased by 2 per cent, well below the exceptional growth seen in 2018, but its share of primary energy still hit a record high (24.2 per cent).

Oil consumption grew by a below-average 0.9 million bpd, or 0.9 per cent, while demand for all liquid fuels, including biofuels, topped 100 million bpd for the first time.

Coal's share of primary energy fell to its lowest level in 16 years (27 per cent), after consumption fell by 0.6 per cent, led by a sharp drop in OECD demand. However, coal remained the single largest source of energy for power generation, accounting for over 36 per cent of global power.