2020 was catastrophic for the energy sector. Due to Covid-19 there was the first energy reduction since 2009 and the largest contraction since the Second World War. But it was also the year of the solar boom in China, a record year in many – even painful – points of view.
THE COLLAPSE OF CRUDE
The numbers and balance sheet on the energy sector - oil, gas and renewables - comes from the World Energy Review presented by Eni. Just as the industry's rebound after the pandemic is generating a surge in energy demand and prices, Eni's annual report sums up the year that has just ended.
“In 2020 world oil demand collapsed (almost -9% on 2019). The price of Brent fell to its lowest level in over 15 years, at an average of 41,7 $/b with peaks below 20 $/b. For the first time in history, US crude oil, WTI, fell below zero for a day." OPEC+ faced the collapse in consumption with a cut in production that also had repercussions on non-OPEC countries. Overall, global oil production decreased by 6,5% in 2020, affecting all categories of crude oil.
THE REVIVAL OF RENEWABLES
However, the race for renewables has not stopped. Last year, new wind installations almost doubled compared to 2019 (+111 GW vs +58 GW), reaching a global capacity of 733 GW (+17,8% vs 2019). China led the growth (65% of the increase) followed by the US (13%).
Solar energy continued to dominate the expansion of renewables with 127 GW of new installed capacity. Total solar capacity has reached almost the same level as wind capacity, mainly thanks to record installations in China (49 GW).
THE GAS BRAKES THE RUN
Eni's World Energy Review helps to understand what is happening in these days, marked by record gas increases. In fact, last year, “for the first time after 10 years of growth, the demand for gas decreased (-1,5% vs 2019); this decline was mainly driven by North America (-4,1%), Russia (-3,2%) and Europe (-2,6%). Conversely, among the 10 largest gas consumers worldwide, China recorded a significant increase (+6,5%) and confirmed its position as the leading global importer”.
Global gas production also fell to cope with the decrease in demand, but the drop was higher: -2,8% compared to 2019, with the greatest contractions for Russian gas (-6%) and the USA (-2,5 .XNUMX%).
Despite this, LNG has continued to increase its share of the total gas traded, reaching 40% (38% in 2019). In 2020, 484 bcm (bcm) of LNG were marketed, over 70% imported from Asian countries. The US increased LNG exports by 59% last year.
