U.S. Petroleum Consumption Hits Record Low Amid COVID-19 Economic Crisis: EIA

U.S. petroleum consumption dropped to its lowest level in nearly three decades due to the travel restrictions in place to curb the spread of COVID-19, as well as the economic downturn resulting from the pandemic, according to an April 23 report from the Energy Information Administration. The U.S. demand averaged 14.1 million barrels per day in the week ending April 17, which is 31 percent lower than the average from January through March 13.

For the week ending April 10 the average was 13.8 million b/d, the lowest value since the early 1990s. The EIA also registered the largest weekly drop on April 3, of 3.4 million b/d, with the following weeks experiencing less changes, which suggest that consumption has stabilized.

Motor gasoline accounted for 45 percent of 2019 total petroleum supplied, while distillate fuel oil accounted for 20 percent, jet fuel 9 percent, and chemical feedstocks and other fuels 26 percent. The Weekly Petroleum Status Report details the amount of petroleum products that leaves the primary supply chain, so the agency uses estimates of product supplied from the report as a proxy for consumption.

Motor gasoline consumption fell by 40 percent from 8.9 million b/d before the stay-at-home orders were issued, to 5.3 million b/d as of the week ending April 17, making it the biggest decline in absolute terms.Jet fuel consumption dropped by 62 percent from 1.6 million b/d to 612,000 b/d making it the biggest in relative terms. Distillate fuel oil consumption has seen a comparatively moderate drop of 20 percent from 3.9 million b/d to 3.1 million b/d since it is mainly used as diesel, the predominant fuel in the trucking, locomotive, and agricultural sectors, which continue to have a distribution demand for item such as food, medical supplies, and home deliveries.