S. Korea's energy demand forecast to fall this year

SEOUL, July 19 (Yonhap) -- South Korea's aggregate energy demand is expected to
drop this year for the first time in a decade due to a protracted economic slump,
a report said Sunday.
The country's aggregate energy demand is likely to fall 0.8 percent to 237.8
million tons of oil equivalent (TOE) this year, according to the report released
by the government-funded Korea Economics Energy Institute (KEEI).
TOE measures the amount of energy released by burning one ton of crude oil.
The drop will mark the first since 1998, when the country was in the midst of the
Asian financial crisis, the report said, adding the decline is due to the ongoing
economic slump.
KEEI says, however, that South Korea's energy demand is expected to rise 4.8
percent next year on the back of an economic recovery.
By energy source, the demand for coal is likely to rise 3.6 percent on-year to
107.9 million tons this year, while demand for energy from other sources is
predicted to fall, the report said.
Demand for crude oil is expected to drop 0.7 percent to 776.7 million barrels
this year from a year ago and demand for liquefied natural gas (LNG) will fall
13.1 percent to 26.9 million tons, it said.
Demand for nuclear and hydro-electric energy is forecast to decline 2.3 percent
and 2.2 percent year-on-year, respectively.
KEEI predicts that South Korea's aggregate demand for energy will reach 274.8
million TOE in 2013 as it is expected to rise 2.8 percent annually from 2008 to
2013.
ksnam@yna.co.kr
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