Coal’s share of global energy consumption rose last year to its highest level since 1970 as use of natural gas fell the most on record, a tendency that may continue, BP Plc said in a report.

Coal accounted for 29 percent of world energy use, BP said today in its annual Statistical Review of World Energy. The report measures consumption of oil, gas, coal, nuclear energy and hydroelectricity. Global consumption dropped 1.3 percent in 2009 to 11.16 billion metric tons of oil equivalent, the first decline since 1982, BP said.

The United Nations is seeking to curb fossil-fuel consumption, which produces greenhouse gases linked to climate change. Coal releases about double the emissions of natural gas for each unit of electricity produced. Carbon-dioxide emissions probably dropped for the first time since 1998, the BP report said, based on energy-consumption data.

“China became a large-scale coal importer, which prevented global coal consumption from falling,” Tony Hayward, BP’s chief executive officer, said today in an introduction to the review. “Given the OPEC cuts, the world’s largest increase in oil production by far came from the U.S., mainly from the Gulf of Mexico. This is not an excuse for anything but a piece of the reality in which we all live.”

The share of coal consumption in developing countries such as China and India will continue to grow in the overall energy mix, BP Chief Economist Christof Ruehl said today in an interview in London.

“That’s what electricity production is based on and that’s necessary for economic growth,” he said.

Economic Stimulus

China’s and India’s respective coal consumption rose by 10 percent and 7 percent last year, exceeding gross domestic product growth, Ruehl said. In late 2008, the Chinese government started major infrastructure projects that have boosted demand for energy-intensive products, such as steel and cement, and therefore demand for coal.

BP shares fell for a third day in London as President Barack Obama stepped up pressure on Hayward to stop the worst oil leak in U.S. history. The shares fell 4.2 percent to 391.55 pence, the lowest price since October 2008 after a 5 percent drop yesterday. The stock has fallen 40 percent since April 20, when an explosion on the Deepwater Horizon rig triggered the spill.

The Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries announced production cuts in late 2008. Global oil consumption in 2009 fell 2 percent to 3.88 billion metric tons, BP said.

While use of coal dropped last year, oil and natural gas consumption dropped more, meaning coal’s share of overall energy consumption rose. Coal consumption fell 0.2 percent to 3.28 billion metric tons of oil equivalent while gas declined 2.4 percent to 2.65 billion tons.

--Editors: Mike Anderson, John Buckley.

To contact the reporter on this story: Eduard Gismatullin and Mathew Carr in London at m.carr@bloomberg.net

To contact the editor responsible for this story: Steve Voss at sev@bloomberg.net

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