Archive:Chile-EU - statistics on energy

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Data extracted in July 2014. Most recent data: Further Eurostat information, Main tables and Database.

This article focuses on energy statistics for the European Union (EU) and the Republic of Chile (Chile). It covers a range of subjects, including primary and secondary energy production (energy from derived fuels), consumption, imports and exports and gives an insight into the latest developments in Chile, comparing them with those for the EU. The dependency of both the EU and Chile on energy imports provides the backdrop for policy concerns relating to the security of energy supply. This article looks at the production of primary energy and — as a result of the shortfall between production and consumption — the increasing dependency on energy imports.

Indeed, more than half of the EU-28’s gross inland energy consumption in 2012 came from imported sources. Much of this energy was categorised as extra-EU. The European Commission adopted its second strategic energy review in November 2008. This addressed how the EU could reduce its dependency on imported energy, thereby improving its supply security, as well as reducing its greenhouse gas emissions. The review encouraged energy solidarity among EU Member States, proposed an action plan to secure sustainable energy supplies, and adopted a package of energy efficiency proposals aimed at making energy savings in key areas, such as buildings and energy-consuming products.

The pioneering privatisation and liberalisation of Chile’s electricity sector in the 1980s has laid the foundations for a competitive energy sector. Chile is South America’s fifth-largest energy consumer, but unlike most other large economies in the region, it is only a minor producer of fossil fuels. Chile is therefore heavily dependent on energy imports. Chile’s oil imports are fairly evenly split between refined petroleum products and crude oil.

Table 1: Primary energy production of non-renewable and renewable sources, by product, Chile, 2007–12
Source: IEA

Figure 1: Primary energy production of non-renewable and renewable sources, shares by product, Chile, 2012
(%)
Source: IEA

Figure 2: Secondary energy production of non-renewable and renewable sources, shares by product, Chile, 2012
(%)
Source: ECLAC - CEPALSTAT

Main statistical findings

Energy production

Chile has been exploring the Magellan shale basin in southern Chile to boost domestic energy production. In an effort to reduce its dependence on coal imports, it has approved the Mina Invierno coal mining project which began production in 2013 and is expected to meet 30 % of Chile’s domestic demand.

Approximately one third of Chile’s electricity capacity and generation stems from hydroelectric plants that provide much of the electricity to Chile’s largest grid, the Sistema Interconectado Central (SIC). Most of the country’s electricity supply that is not supplied by hydroelectricity, including the Sistema Interconectado del Norte Grande (SING) grid, which supplies power to many large mining operations, is provided by fossil fuel plants. The generation of power from coal and natural gas has increased dramatically in recent years, mostly at the expense of oil-fired generation, according to statistics from the Comisión Nacional de Energía.

Having peaked at more than 10.0 million tonnes of oil equivalent (TOE) in 2009 (Chile’s total production of primary energy fell to 9.2 million TOE in 2010, before increasing again in 2012 to reach its highest value since 2007, at13.0 million TOE (Table 1). Unlike the 2009 increase, the 2012 increase was mainly a result of the surge in biofuels and waste production, as hydro energy and natural gas production fell. Since 2007, the share of biofuels and waste production has always been over 50 % of total primary production, followed by hydro energy and natural gas. In 2012 hydro energy production was at its lowest since 2007, accounting for 13.3 % of total production (Figure 1). Natural gas accounted for 7.9 % of total production, recording a drop of more than 8 percentage points (pp) since 2007.

In 2012 Chile produced 17 million TOE of secondary energy, i.e. energy that results from the transformation of primary sources, making it more important than primary energy. In 2012 electricity production accounted for 3.6 million TOE, 36.4 % of total secondary production, diesel 3.3 million TOE (18.9 %), gasoline/alcohol 2.7 million TOE (15.3 %), fuel oil 1.3 million TOE (7.6 %), kerosene 0.8 million TOE (4.8 %), liquefied petroleum gas 0.8 million TOE (4.4 %), coke 0.7 million (3.8 %) and gases 0.5 million (2.7 %) (Figure 2).

Production of primary energy in the EU-28 totalled 794.6 million TOE in 2012 (Table 2), roughly a 7 % drop compared with 2007. This generally downward trend was only interrupted in 2010 as production rebounded after a relatively large fall in 2009 that coincided with the global financial and economic crisis. It can at least be partially attributed to supplies of raw materials becoming exhausted and/or producers considering that the exploitation of certain limited resources had become uneconomical.

Primary energy production in the EU-28 in 2012 was spread across a range of different energy sources, the most important of which — in terms of contribution — was nuclear energy (28.7 %). Over one fifth of the EU-28’s total production of primary energy was accounted for by both renewable energy sources (22.3 %) and solid fuels (20.9 %, largely coal), while the share of gas was somewhat lower (16.8 %). Petroleum products (9.6 %, largely crude oil) and waste (1.7 %) made up the remainder (Figure 3). The growth of primary energy production from renewable sources exceeded that of all other energy types (Table 2).

In general, the production of renewables in the EU-28 increased by 81.3 % over the last 10 years. In contrast, the production levels for the other primary sources of energy generally fell over the same period, the largest drops being recorded for crude oil (– 53.5 %), natural gas (– 35.4 %) and solid fuels (– 20.7 %), with a less severe drop of 10.9 % for nuclear energy.

Figure 3: Primary energy production of non-renewable and renewable sources, shares by product, EU-28, 2012
(%)
Source: Eurostat (nrg_100a)

Table 2: Primary energy production (¹) of non-renewable and renewable sources, by product, EU-28, 2007–12
Source: Eurostat (nrg_100a)

Energy consumption

Since the global financial and economic crisis, total final energy consumption in Chile, reported by the IEA had been growing slowly to 29.0 million TOE in 2011, the highest value recorded since 2007. In 2012 Chile’s energy consumption fell to 24.9 million TOE. 50.5 % of its energy consumption was in oil products, more than twice as high as biofuel (21.5 %) and electricity (21.4 %) combined.

Table 3: Final energy consumption, by product, Chile, 2007–12
Source: IEA

After three years of falling consumption that broadly coincided with the global financial and economic crisis, the EU-28’s total final energy consumption (also referred to as gross inland consumption) rose from 1 694.9 million TOE in 2009 to 1 759.7 million TOE in 2010 to fall again in 2011 and hit the lowest value of 1 683.5 million TOE in 2012 (Table 4). Worldwide, renewables accounted for 13.3 % of total energy consumption. In contrast, the EU-28 recorded below average shares of renewables in gross inland consumption, despite above average primary production, reflecting its net imports of fossil fuels. Total petroleum products accounted for the highest share of gross inland consumption of energy in the EU-28 in 2012 (34 %). On the other hand, gas, solid fuels, nuclear heat and renewable energy accounted for 23 %, 17 %, 14 % and 11 % respectively.

Table 4: Gross inland consumption of energy, by product, EU-28, 2007–12
Source: Eurostat (nrg_100a)

Energy consumption in Chile and the EU-28 can be compared in Table 5. Data was taken from IEA which used the total primary energy supply (TPES) divided by the population as an indicator of the levels of consumption. From 2005 to 2012, in Chile, the TPES changed from 1.74 to 2.14 million TOE per capita — a 23 % increase, while in the EU-28 the indicator shows a 10 % decrease, from 3.60 in 2005 to 3.24 million TOE in 2012.

Table 5: Total primary energy supply (¹) per capita, Chile and EU-28, 2005–12
(TOE per capita)
Source: Source: IEA, Indicators, 2008-12

Renewable energy

Renewable energy sources include wind power, solar power (thermal, photovoltaic and concentrated), hydroelectric power, tidal power, geothermal energy, biomass and the renewable part of waste. The use of renewable energy has many potential benefits, including a reduction in greenhouse gas emissions, the diversification of energy supplies and a reduced dependency on fossil fuel markets (in particular, oil and gas).

Incentives and targets for non-conventional renewable energy (NCRE) do exist (and have recently been increased) ; however, these are currently technology-neutral and not aimed at pre-commercial technologies such as wave and tidal. In Chile, gross electricity generation from renewable sources in 2012 was generated by three main sources: hydro powered plants (20 158 GWh); primary solid biofuels (4 854 GWh); and wind (409 GWh) . Nevertheless, as has been shown in several studies, Chile has a vast potential for generating power from waves and a much smaller but still significant tidal potential. Chile’s renewable energy resources dwarf the country’s current electricity demand and wave and tidal are increasingly recognised alongside other forms of renewable energy as sustainable alternatives to coal, diesel and gas-fuelled generation for an independent national energy supply.

Wave energy is Chile’s largest renewable resource, totalling 240 GW according to a study by Baird & Associates , and wave activity is high enough for power production. It could be argued that Chile is the best place in the world for wave energy, with over 4 000 km of coast exposed to consistent high energy swells, and with all of the country’s energy demand located at or relatively near this coast. Average power levels range from around 20 kW/m in the north of Chile to 50 kW/m in Los Lagos. Further south, offshore energy levels are even higher, but projects would be more difficult to develop in these relatively inaccessible areas with extreme operating environment. Chile’s tidal energy resources are also significant but are perhaps one hundredth the size of the total wave resource .

Currently, 3 % of Chile’s current electricity matrix comes from NCRE sources, 34 % from hydroelectricity and 63 % from thermoelectric plants. The objective for the future composition of the matrix is to accelerate the incorporation of NCRE sources and to strengthen the development of hydroelectricity. With the measures defined in the national energy strategy , Chile is looking to more than double the share of NCRE sources in the matrix in the next decade. Non-conventional renewable energy should make up 10 % of energy by 2024.

Table 6 shows that the main renewables generated in Chile in 2012 were hydroelectricity as well as primary solid biofuels and, to a very small extent, wind.

Table 6: Renewable energy, Chile and EU-28, 2012
(% of total)
Source: Eurostat (nrg_100a) and IEA

The primary production of renewable energy within the EU-28 in 2012 was 177.4 million TOE — a 22.3 % share of total primary energy production from all sources. The quantity of renewable energy produced within the EU-28 increased overall by 81.3 % between 2002 and 2012, equivalent to an average increase of 6.1 % per year.

Among renewable energies, the most important source in the EU-28 was biomass and renewable waste, accounting for just under two thirds (65.5 %) of primary renewables production in 2012 (Table 6). Hydropower was the other main contributor to the renewable energy mix (16.2 % of the total). Although their levels of production remained relatively low, there was a particularly rapid expansion in the output of wind and solar energy (photovoltaic and thermal), which accounted for 10.0 % and 5.1 % respectively of the EU-28’s renewable energy produced in 2012. The remaining shares were 3.2 % for geothermal energy and 0.02 % for tide, wave and ocean energy.

Imports/exports

According to the IEA, in 2012, Chile and the EU-28 were net importers, with 24.86 and 927.77 million TOE of net imports, respectively . Therefore, the statistical analysis hereafter focuses on imports of energy products into Chile and the EU. Table 7 shows the TPES, the imports and the also the ratio between the two figures. In both Chile and the EU, the import of energy has the lion’s share of the primary energy supply. In 2012 the percentage of imports in the TPES was 69 % in Chile and 88 % in the EU. In the 5 years from 2008 to 2012, imports decreased their share in Chile’s TPES (especially from 2011 to 2012), while in the EU-28 there was less variation.

According to its energy ministry, Chile plans to meet more of its domestic demands through increased natural gas supplies. The expected expansion of the Panama Canal widens Chile’s import options, including liquefied natural gas from the United States and other South American countries.

Table 7: Total primary energy supply (¹) and energy imports, Chile and EU-28, 2008–12
(1 000 TOE)
Source: IEA, Balances, 2008–12

Most of Chile’s crude oil imports originate in other South American countries, particularly Ecuador, Brazil, Colombia and Argentina. However, the United States is Chile’s leading source of refined petroleum product imports. Most of Chile’s natural gas imports arrive as liquefied natural gas (LNG) from Trinidad and Tobago, Qatar and Yemen. Chile has two regasification terminals: Mejillones, in the north, and Quintero, near the large urban centres of Valparaíso and Santiago. Chile also imports natural gas from Argentina through various pipelines that were constructed in the late 1990s. More recently, Methanex Corporation, a Canadian methane-producing company, halted at least part of its large methanol production in southern Chile, reportedly because of inadequate supplies of natural gas from Argentina .

As with oil and coal, Chile imports most of the gas it consumes (Table 8). The figures show a slight decrease in the dependency from 2007 to 2010, and then a high of 25.8 million TOE in 2012. The highest imports were recorded for crude oil (34.3 %), followed by oil products (29.9 %) coal (23.0 %) and gas (12.7 %).The share of crude oil in overall imports of energy showed the highest decrease (– 10 pp) from 2007 to 2012, while imports of coal and natural gas had the highest increases (+7 pp and +3 pp, respectively).

Table 8: Imports of energy, by product, Chile, 2008–12
Source: IEA

From the point of view of the EU, the downturn in the primary production of hard coal, lignite, crude oil, natural gas and more recently nuclear energy led to a situation where it was increasingly reliant on primary energy imports in order to satisfy demand, although this stabilised in the aftermath of the financial and economic crisis. EU-28 imports of primary energy exceeded exports by some 922.8 million TOE in 2012 (see Table 9).

The origin of EU-28 energy imports has changed somewhat in recent years. Russia has maintained its position as the main supplier of crude oil and natural gas while emerging as the leading supplier of solid fuels in 2006. In general, a high proportion of EU-28 imports of primary energy supplies are concentrated among relatively few partners. Over three quarters of EU-28 imports of natural gas in 2012 came from Russia, Norway or Algeria. These three countries also accounted for almost three quarters of natural gas imports in 2010 and 2011. Similarly around half of EU-28 crude oil imports came from Russia, Norway and Saudi Arabia in 2012, while almost three quarters of hard coal imports were from Russia, Colombia and the United States. Although their import volumes remain relatively small, there was some evidence of new partner countries emerging between 2002 and 2012. This was notably the case for crude oil imports from Nigeria, Azerbaijan and Kazakhstan, or natural gas imports from Qatar .

Compared to the highest value of 1 505.5 million TOE in 2008, energy imports in the EU-28 slightly decreased to 1 443.6 million TOE in 2012 (Table 9). The highest imports in 2012 were recorded for crude oil (included in total petroleum products; 62.6 %), gas (23.8 %) and solid fuels (10.4 %). The dependency of the EU-28 on non-EU Member States for supplies of natural gas and crude oil grew at a faster pace than for solid fuels. In recent years, EU-28 net imports of energy have been larger than its primary production; in other words, more than half of the EU-28’s gross inland energy consumption was supplied by net imports.

Table 9: Imports and exports of energy, by product and energy balance, EU-28, 2007–12
Source: Eurostat (nrg_12)

Data sources and availability

The sources for the statistics in this publication are produced through Eurostat database for the EU-28 and through INE, the National Energy Commission (CNE), the Ministry of Energy, Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC), the Chilean Ministry of Energy and also the International Energy Agency (IEA). More specifically:

• Eurostat, the statistical office of the European Union
• Comisión Nacional de Energía (CNE, National Energy Commission)
• Instituto Nacional de Estadística (ΙΝΕ Chile)
• Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC)
• The source used for the Chilean Yearbook, Compendio, 2013 was the Ministry of Energy, Energy Balance 2011
• International Energy Agency (IEA)
• Energy Information Administration (EIA)

Methodology / Metadata

• Energy Statistics Manual
• Energy statistics — supply, transformation and consumption (ESMS metadata file — nrg_10_esms)

Energy commodities extracted or captured directly from natural resources are called primary energy sources, while energy commodities which are produced from primary energy sources in transformation plants are called derived products. Production of primary energy covers the national production of primary energy sources and takes place when natural resources are exploited, for example, in coal mines, crude oil fields, hydropower plants, or in the fabrication of biofuels. Whenever consumption exceeds primary production, the shortfall needs to be accounted for by imports of primary or derived products.

The heat produced in a reactor as a result of nuclear fission is regarded as primary production of nuclear heat, alternatively referred to as nuclear energy. It is calculated either on the basis of the actual heat produced or on the basis of reported gross electricity generation and the thermal efficiency of the nuclear plant. Primary production of coal and lignite consists of quantities of fuels extracted or produced, calculated after any operation for the removal of inert matter.

Net imports are calculated as the quantity of imports minus the equivalent quantity of exports. Imports represent all entries into the national territory excluding transit quantities (notably via gas and oil pipelines); exports similarly cover all quantities exported from the national territory.

Context

This statistical article was prepared jointly by Eurostat and the Instituto Nacional de Estadística (INE, the National Statistical Institute) in Chile, within the framework of the memorandum of understanding signed by both institutions in 2010.

Energy statistics are in the spotlight due to their strategic importance on the agenda of competitive and sustainable economic growth. In recent years the EU has faced several important energy crises that have moved energy to the top of national and European political agendas. In that context, energy statistics provided crucial information to policy-makers: the fluctuation in oil prices, interruptions of energy supply from non-EU Member States, blackouts aggravated by inefficient connections between national electricity networks, and the difficulties of market access for suppliers in relation to gas and electricity markets.

In November 2010, an initiative titled ‘Energy 2020 — a strategy for competitive, sustainable and secure energy’ (COM(2010) 639 final) was adopted by the European Commission. This strategy defines energy priorities for a period of 10 years and puts forward actions that may be taken in order to tackle a variety of challenges, including achieving a market with competitive prices and secure supplies, boosting technological leadership, and effectively negotiating with international partners.

There are a number of ongoing initiatives to develop gas pipelines between Europe and its eastern and southern neighbours. These include the Nord Stream (between Russia and the EU via the Baltic Sea) which became operational in November 2011, the south stream (between Russia and the EU via the Black Sea) scheduled to be completed by 2015 and the Trans Adriatic Pipeline (connecting Turkey to Italy through Greece and Albania to bring gas from the Caspian Sea region to the EU).

Since 1990, Chile has been the fastest growing economy in Latin America thanks to sound economic management and integration into the global economy. Chile can also be proud of its energy policy achievements. The pioneering privatisation and liberalisation of its electricity sector in the 1980s was the foundation for a competitive energy sector, which has sustained the rapid growth of the Chilean economy over the past two decades.

Nonetheless, Chile faces the continuing challenge of finding additional energy supplies to fuel economic growth. Chile has limited fossil energy resources and depends on imports to meet three-quarters of its energy needs. The country’s electricity sector has faced three periods of significant stress over the past decade. The last episode took place in 2007/2008, when the loss of natural gas imports from Argentina was further exacerbated by a drought in the central system, where hydropower normally accounts for over half of electricity generation.

A national energy strategy for Chile (Estrategia Nacional de Energía, ENE) covering the 2012–30 period is in place and is built on five pillars:

• increasing energy efficiency;
• incorporating non-conventional renewable energies (NCRE) into the Chilean electricity matrix;
• reducing external dependence as well as greenhouse gases through strengthening traditional renewable energy sources;
• enhancing the transmission and distribution systems; and
• promoting international interconnections.

See also

• Energy statistics introduced
• Energy price statistics
• Natural gas market indicators
• Renewable energy statistics
• Sustainable development - climate change and energy
• The EU in the world - energy

Further Eurostat information

Publications

• Chilean Yearbook, Compendio 2013, Ministry of Energy
• Chile, Energy policy review, 2009
• Energy balance sheets — 2010-2011
• Energy, transport and environment indicators — 2012 edition
• Panorama of energy: energy statistics to support EU policies and solutions

Main tables

• Energy (t_nrg), see:

Energy statistics — quantities (t_nrg_quant)

Total production of primary energy (ten00076)

Database

• Energy (nrg), see:

Energy statistics — quantities, annual data (nrg_quant)

Energy statistics — supply, transformation, consumption (nrg_10)

Energy statistics — imports (by country of origin) (nrg_12)

Energy statistics — exports (by country of destination) (nrg_13)

Dedicated section

• Energy

Source data for tables and figures (MS Excel)

• Chile-EU — statistics on energy Excel file

External links

• Instituto Nacional de Estadística (INE, National Institute of Statistics) energy statistics
• Comisión Nacional de Energía (CNE, Chile’s National Energy Commission) energy statistics
• Centro de Despacho Económico de Carga del Sistema Interconectado Central (CDEC-SIC, SIC Center of Economic Load Dispatch) statistics
• Centro de Despacho Económico de Carga del Sistema Interconectado del Norte Grande (CDEC-SING, SING Center of Economic Load Dispatch) statistics (click on ‘Datos de Operación’)
• IEA energy statistics of Chile
• EIA energy statistics of Chile