Overall energy consumption in Greece fell by 6.6 percent last year, the largest decline among the mineral fuels registered by natural gas, whose consumption dropped by 23.5 percent, according to the annual BP report.

Fuel consumption dropped by 2.4 percent in 2014 to 289,000 barrels per day, or 14.2 million tons. Production capacity at the country’s refineries remained steady at 498,000 barrels per day, according to the BP report.

The sharp 23.5 percent drop in natural gas consumption lowered the country’s consumption level to 2.7 billion cubic meters. Natural gas imported through pipelines reached 2.3 billion cubic meters, with Russia providing the overwhelming majority, 1.7 billion cubic meters.

As for coal, the country’s lignite deposits reached 3,020 million tons, while production fell by 8.7 percent to 6.3 million tons. Consumption fell by 7.5 percent to 6.5 million tons.

In the hydropower domain, consumption declined by 30.1 percent, while all other renewable energy sources (RES) registered an overall rise of 11.4 percent, to two million tons, if measured in petrol terms.

The overall 6.6 percent drop in primary energy consumption, to 26.1 million tons, in petrol terms, was attributed to the ongoing recession, which has prompted a downward energy consumption trajectory over the past few years. The effort made by consumers to save on energy consumption was also cited as a factor.