Introduction
France, as one of the largest nuclear power producers, has built nuclear power plants since the 1970s to reduce its dependence on oil and gas producing countries, putting France in a special position in energy. In the meantime, despite the massive production of nuclear energy in France, oil and gas continue to be the two most important sources of post-energy energy supply. Meanwhile, the Middle East and the Gulf region, with 42.5 percent of the world’s proven oil reserves, have played a significant role in distributing and shipping oil to other countries, especially the European ones, including France.
In the first part of this report, we first tried to find out the extent and location of fossil fuels in France in recent years and to examine the resources and countries that supply oil and gas in this country by answering this question with the latest country statistics. What is France’s policy in the West Asia region to meet its oil needs, especially in Iran?
Energy location in France
Following the implementation of the nuclear program in France, the primary production of primary energy would reach 140 million tons of oil equivalent in 2015 (81.5% of nuclear power) from the equivalent of 44 million tons of oil equivalent in 1973 (9% of nuclear energy). As a result, oil, natural gas and coal production declined by 2014 and 2015, and primary production of renewable energy continued to increase in the mid-2000s. Energy_france_1
Since 1973, consumption of coal and oil resources has declined by 69% and 35%, respectively, while gas consumption has risen three times over the years. By the year 2005, there was an increase in energy consumption to reach 274 million metric tons, followed by a declining policy over the next 10 years due to global warming problems. This declining trend stopped in 2015.
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The energy consumption in France in 2015 by type of energy and by volume, respectively: 42% of nuclear energy, 30% of oil, 14% of gas, 3% of coal and 10% of renewable energy. In this way, France’s nuclear energy fossil fuels, oil and gas remain the first energy consumed by the French. Particularly, gas consumption has been increasing in comparison with previous years, which adds to the importance of gas for the country. The remarkable point is the energy supply in France, especially fossil fuels, which will be dealt with in the next section.
French oil supplies
According to the latest figures released by the French energy ministry on April 25, 2017, oil production in 2015 was close to 835,000. These products only accounted for 1% of its oil supply. In order to supply the rest of this year, 56.7 million tons of additional crude oil was imported to France, which should import the already refined products, including gas oil and heating oil.
Since 2013, it has been the largest supplier of French oil to Saudi Arabia. Russia had this task before it between 1990 and 2012. Saudi Arabia was responsible for 18.6% of the country’s exports in 2015. After Saudi Arabia, respectively, Kazakhstan (13.8%), Nigeria (11.7%) and Russia (7.9%) have been importing to France.
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France’s crude imports from OPEC member states accounted for 95% in 1973, while in 2015, France only received 56% of its crude oil from OPEC member countries. In fact, in terms of geographical distribution of oil imports, more than one-third of the imports from the Middle East and the North Sea in 2015 were reduced, compared with 75% in the past ten years.
After falling consecutive years (-36% between 2005 and 2014), French petroleum imports rose by +5.8% in 2015. This year, France’s investment in refined oil and refined products amounted to € ۳۱٫۶ billion, down 29.6% from 2014, thanks to a decline in oil prices. [1]
French gas supply centers
In 1970, natural gas was consumed in France mainly by domestic production or imported from the Netherlands (82%) and Algiers (18%). At the end of the commercial operation of the Lacq oilfield in France, in the Pyrenees-Atlantic city of the country, in the fall of 2013, nearly all of the natural gas demanded by France will be supplied through imports, which has always been sources of supply over the course of forty years. As from the beginning of 2000, Norway and Russia became two major importers of natural gas to France, replacing two traditional importers of the country, the Netherlands and Algiers. With the development of natural gas (LNG), other exporting countries such as Nigeria and Qatar have also been added to the gas importer’s cycle in France, as natural gas consumption has been steadily increasing with demand growth in residential and commercial sectors.
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In 2015, Norway has been the main supplier of natural gas to France, accounting for 42% of the total gas supply to the country, up 8.8% from 2014. Russia has been second with 11% before the Netherlands. Algerian LNG exports with 9% of France’s energy supply in fourth place and Qatar’s LNG with a tangible decline of only 1% of French gas in 2015. Buy from natural gas markets
