site.btaBulgaria's April 2024 Natgas Consumption Down, Month on Month - Eurostat

In April 2024, natural gas consumption in Bulgaria amounted to 8,098.5 terajoules, down from 10,753.9 terajoules in March and from 9,812.1 terajoules in February, according to data released by the Statistical Office of the European Union (Eurostat) on Tuesday.

EU-wide, demand for natural gas fell by 7.4% in 2023, totalling 12.72 million terajoules in 2023, which was its lowest level recorded since the collection of monthly cumulated data began in 2008.

This reduction has been partly affected by measures on coordinated demand-reduction measures for gas as part of the plan to end EU’s dependence on Russian fossil fuels after the start of Russia's invasion of Ukraine. Russia restricted gas supplies to the EU Member States and the fuel appreciated on international markets, analysts recall.

The largest natural gas consumers in the EU reduced their demand in 2023. Germany recorded a 2.96 million terajoules demand (-3.8% compared with 2022), Italy 2.35 million terajoules (-10.0%) and France 1.36 million terajoules (-11.7%). 

In 21 out of 27 Member Countries, including Bulgaria, demand for natural gas increased in 2023, year on year. The largest increases were recorded in Finland (+25.6%), Sweden (+11.1%), Poland (+5.3%), Malta (+4.5%), Denmark (+1.1%) and Croatia (+0.8%).