Reuters: Germany overtakes Britain as Europe's biggest gas user

Britain has lost its long-standing position as Europe's leading gas consumer to Germany, and the shift could threaten the UK's ranking as the continent's biggest gas trading hub. Britain's natural gas demand has plunged 22 percent over two years due to a weak economy and because cheap coal imports have made coal more profitable for generating electricity than gas. 

Although German gas demand has also been affected by cheap coal, its economy has fared better than Britain's, supporting industrial use. Most data suggests the switch happened between 2012 and 2013, and it is almost certain that Germany will have overtaken Britain as Europe's biggest gas user by the end of this year. 

German gas consumption was above 50 billion cubic metres (bcm) in the first half of this year, while Britain's demand lingered around 46 bcm, according to government data. Whether Germany will remain Europe's biggest gas user is unclear. Germany's developing position as a gas import hub thanks to Baltic Sea pipelines and signs of economic recovery in Britain make it difficult to predict. "In the medium term, the two countries will be within 5 percent of each other. We don't consider the UK going much higher than Germany again," said Laszlo Varro, the International Energy Agency's head of gas, coal and power markets.  MORE