Consumption of petroleum products falls to a 25-year low in the US
The United States consumed 18.1 million barrels per day (b/d) of petroleum products in 2020, a 25-year low, the Energy Information Administration (EIA) noted.
From 2019 to 2020, oil consumption decreased in all energy-consuming sectors, and decreased to a record 15% in the transportation sector.
Overall, responses to the Covid-19 pandemic were the main drivers of the decline in oil consumption, particularly for transportation fuels.
By contrast, hydrocarbon gas liquids (HGL) were one of the few petroleum product categories that saw increased consumption in 2020.
HGLS are primarily used to make plastics rather than being consumed as fuel.
In particular, motor gasoline, the most widely consumed petroleum product in the United States, accounted for 44% of that country’s oil consumption in 2020.
Petroleum products
Most of the gasoline consumption in the United States occurs in the transportation sector (96%), with the industrial and commercial sectors consuming the rest.
In 2020, gasoline consumption in the United States fell to 8 million b / d, 14% less than in 2019, the lowest level since 1997.
On the other hand, distilled fuel oil, or diesel fuel, accounted for 21% of US oil consumption in 2020.
Diesel is consumed in all sectors, but more than three-quarters is consumed in the transport sector, mainly in commercial trucks, ships and trains.
Similarly, diesel consumption in the United States decreased 8% from 2019 to 2020.
Other fuels
Hydrocarbon gas liquids accounted for 18% of total U.S. oil consumption in 2020.
Last year, HGL consumption hit a record 3.2 million b / d.
In turn, propane represents 25% of total HGL consumption and is consumed in the residential, commercial, industrial and transportation sectors.
The remaining 75% is consumed mainly as chemical raw material for the manufacture of plastics in the industrial sector.
To conclude, jet fuel and aviation gasoline accounted for 6% of total US oil consumption in 2020.
Aviation fuel consumption decreased 62% from 2019 to 2020 (the largest decrease of any petroleum product last year) to its lowest level since 1983.
Also aviation gasoline decreased by 18 percent. Both fuels are consumed entirely by the transport sector.
