Europe / Caspian / CIS
Country profile: Belgium
Location: | Western Europe, bordering the North Sea, between France and the Netherlands |
Climate: | temperate; mild winters, cool summers; rainy, humid, cloudy |
Terrain: | flat coastal plains in northwest, central rolling hills, rugged mountains of Ardennes Forest in southeast |
Size: | 30528 sq. km total (Land area: 30278 sq. km Water area: 250 sq.km) |
Population: | 10,403,951 (July 2008 est.) |
Languages: | Dutch (official) 60%, French (official) 40%, German (official) less than 1%, legally bilingual (Dutch and French) |
Government: | federal parliamentary democracy under a constitutional monarchy |
Capital city: | Brussels |
Legal system: | based on civil law system influenced by English constitutional theory; judicial review of legislative acts; accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction, with reservations |
Currency: | euro (EUR) |
Licensing: |
Country profile
Belgium became independent from the Netherlands in 1830; it was occupied by Germany during World Wars I and II. The country prospered in the past half century as a modern, technologically advanced European state and member of NATO and the EU. Tensions between the Dutch-speaking Flemings of the north and the French-speaking Walloons of the south have led in recent years to constitutional amendments granting these regions formal recognition and autonomy. The latest Belgium Oil & Gas Report from BMI forecasts that the country will account for 5.7% of developed European regional oil demand by 2010, while making no appreciable contribution to supply.
In Developed Europe, overall oil consumption reached 14.18mn barrels per day (b/d) in 2005. It is set to rise to around 14.83mn b/d by 2010. In terms of natural gas, the Developed Europe region last year consumed 436bcm, with demand of 519bcm targeted for 2010, representing 19.2% growth. Production of 282bcm in 2005 should fall to 277bcm in 2010, which implies net imports rising from last year's 154bcm to some 242bcm by the end of the period. Belgium's share of gas consumption in 2005 was 3.9%, while it has no share of production. By 2010, its share of gas consumption is forecast to be broadly unchanged.
Belgium has a privatised energy sector operating under EU guidelines. There is no upstream oil and gas segment, but downstream oil and gas features a mixture of IOCs and former state companies now in foreign hands. Both the gas and power markets are substantially open to competition, with full opening imminent.
Energy production and consumption
Oil | Gas | |
Production: | 9,000 bbl/day (2006) | |
Consumption: | 591,000 bbl/day (2006) | 16 billion cu m (2005 est.) |
Exports: | 523,400 bbl/day (2006) | NaN |
Imports: | 1 bbl/day (2006) | 17 billion cu m (2005) |
Reserves: | NaN | |
Major fields: |
Belgium - recent news
15 May 23 |
Belgium: TotalEnergies launches in Belgium its largest battery energy storage project in Europe TotalEnergies has launched at its Antwerp refinery (Belgium), a battery farm project for energy storage with a power rating of 25 MW and capacity of 75 MWh, equivalent to the daily consumption of close to 10,000 households. |
01 Feb 23 |
Belgium: Equinor provides update on H2BE hydrogen project in Belgium Equinor reports that the feasibility study of the 1 GW H2BE hydrogen project, which assessed the technical and economic suitability of a potential location at ENGIE's site at Rodenhuize in Ghent (Belgium), has been completed. ENGIE and Equinor have decided to sign a joint development agreement, progress H2BE to the next development phase and further mature towards concept selection in 2023. |
04 Oct 22 |
Belgium: Decarbonizing Heavy Industry - TotalEnergies and Holcim join forces to study solutions for first carbon-free cement plant in Belgium TotalEnergies and Holcim in Belgium have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to work together on the full decarbonization of a cement production facility being upgraded by Holcim in Obourg, Belgium. |
31 Aug 22 |
Belgium: TotalEnergies selected to install 4,400 EV charging stations for electric vehicles in Flanders The Flemish government has tasked TotalEnergies with the installation and commercial operation of a charging service for electric vehicles in the West Flanders (Westhoek, Kortrijk and Bruges) and Flemish Brabant (Brussels Periphery, Leuven) regions. |
12 Jan 22 |
Belgium: INEOS signs renewable power deal with Eneco - increases total Belgian offshore wind generation to over 200MW INEOS has agreed a long-term Power Purchase Agreement for renewable offshore wind power in Belgium with sustainable energy producer Eneco. Under the terms of the ten-year deal, which begins in 2022, INEOS will purchase 65,5-Megawatt (250 GWh per annum) of off-shore wind power from Eneco, produced at the SeaMade offshore wind park in the Belgian North Sea. |
Belgium - more news
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