Global natural gas consumption rose 2.2% on the year in 2012 to 3.3 trillion cubic meters, but stayed below the historical average increase of 2.7%, while global LNG trade fell for the first time on record, BP said in its annual statistical review published Wednesday.
South and Central America, Africa and North America saw above average consumption growth, with the US recording a 4.1% rise to 722.1 billion cu m, the largest increase globally.
It was followed by China, which saw a 9.9% rise to 143.8 Bcm, and Japan, where consumption grew 10.3% to 116.7 Bcm.
Consumption in the EU fell by 2.3% to 443.9 Bcm, while in the Former Soviet Union, it fell 2.6% to 584.9 Bcm.
In the Europe and Eurasia region, Russia consumed the most gas in 2012 (416.2 Bcm), followed by the UK (78.3 Bcm) and Germany (75.2 Bcm).
Global production grew 1.9% to 3.3 Tcm, with the US, once again, recording the largest volumetric increase -- 4.7% to 681.4 Bcm -- remaining the world's largest producer.
Norway followed with a 12.6% rise to 114.9 Bcm, Qatar with an increase of 7.8% to 157 Bcm and Saudi Arabia with an increase of 11.1% to 102.8 Bcm.
Russian production fell 2.7% to 592.3 Bcm.
Piped shipments grew by 0.5%, with a decline of 12% in net Russian exports, partly offset by a 12% rise in Norwegian exports, BP said.
US net pipeline imports dropped by 18.8%.
Global LNG trade fell for the first time on record, by 0.9%, with a 28.2% drop in net European LNG imports offset by net increases in Asia, which saw a rise in imports of 22.8%.
Qatar exported 105.4 Bcm of LNG, up 4.7% on the year, out of which 21.3 Bcm was shipped to Japan, 14.2 Bcm to South Korea and 13.3 Bcm to the UK.
