Portugal Energy Information

Total Energy Consumption

Consumption per capita is 33% lower than the EU average at 2 toe, 4 700 kWh of which is electricity (15% below the EU average) (2021).

Graph: CONSUMPTION TRENDS BY ENERGY SOURCE (Mtoe)

Interactive Chart Portugal Total Energy Consumption

Crude Oil Production

Portugal does not produce oil and imported 9.4 Mt of crude oil in 2021 (-19% compared to 2020). In 2021, the main crude oil suppliers were Brazil (38%), Nigeria (21%), Azerbaijan (12%), and the United Arab Emirates (10%).

The country produced 11 Mt of oil products in 2021 (-8%). Portugal has a refining capacity of 220 kb/d at the Sines refinery in Porto. The Matosinhos refinery (110 kb/d, also in Porto) was shut in down in 2020. Portugal is a net exporter of oil products (4.9 Mt exported vs 3.5 Mt imported in 2021).

Interactive Chart Portugal Crude Oil Production

Oil Products Consumption

Oil product consumption has been fluctuating since 2017, reaching 8.4 Mt in 2021. Before that, it had remained roughly stable at around 9 Mt between 2013 and 2017 and decreased rapidly between 2005 and 2012 (-7%/year) especially for industry and power plants (10%/year and -20%/year, respectively).

The transport sector is the largest oil consumer (58% in 2021), followed by industry (19%, including non-energy uses), buildings and agriculture (11%), and the hydrocarbon industry (9%).

Graph: OIL CONSUMPTION (Mt)

Interactive Chart Portugal Refined Oil Products Production

Natural Gas Consumption

Gas consumption decreased slightly in 2020 and 2021 to 5.9 bcm. It increased rapidly between 2014 and 2019 due to an increase in demand from power plants, partly because of lower hydropower availability.

The share of gas used for power generation has been fluctuating between 62% and 45% since 2010 (54% in 2021), depending on hydropower availability. Industry accounts for 23% of total gas consumption and buildings for 11%.

Graph: NATURAL GAS CONSUMPTION (bcm)

Interactive Chart Portugal Natural Gas Domestic Consumption

Coal Consumption

Coal consumption has dropped since 2017 to the very low level of 0.32 Mt in 2021. Previously, coal consumption was almost entirely used for power generation and its consumption levels depended on hydropower generation and price spreads with gas.

Graph: COAL CONSUMPTION (Mt)

Graph: COAL CONSUMPTION BREAKDOWN BY SECTOR (2021, %)

Interactive Chart Portugal Coal and Lignite Domestic Consumption

Power Consumption

After a 3% drop in 2020, electricity consumption rebounded to close to its 2019 level of 48.5 TWh.

In 2021, industry and services remained the largest electricity consumers with a 33% and 32% share, respectively. Households held a 29% share in power consumption.

Graph: ELECTRICITY CONSUMPTION (TWh)

Graph: ELECTRICITY CONSUMPTION BREAKDOWN BY SECTOR (2021, %)

Renewable in % Electricity Production

ADENE is also the national agency responsible for renewables.

Portugal's NECP set a target of 47% of the renewables contribution in final energy consumption in 2030 (80% in power and 20% in transport). The target for 2020 was exceeded by 3 points, with an actual share of 34% (58% for power, 41.5% for heating and cooling, and 9.8% for transport).

Interactive Chart Portugal Share of Renewables in Electricity Production (incl hydro)

CO₂ Fuel Combustion/CO₂ Emissions

GHG emissions fluctuated around 65 MtCO₂eq between 2015 and 2019, with a peak at 70 MtCO₂eq in 2017 due to large forest fires. Emissions have decreased since then, reaching 57.6 MtCO₂eq in 2020 in the context of the COVID 19 pandemic. Before that, emissions had decreased steadily by 3.3%/year from 2005 to 2014 (from 86 MtCO₂eq).

The NECP aims to reduce emissions (without LULUCF) by 45-55% in 2030 compared to 2005 levels. Under the Roadmap for Carbon Neutrality 2050 (Roteiro para a Neutralidade Carbónica, RCN 2050), Portugal committed to carbon neutrality by 2050.