BAKU, Azerbaijan, March 17
By Leman Zeynalova – Trend:
Jet fuel consumption will return to pre-pandemic levels only by 2024, Trend reports with reference to the International Energy Agency (IEA).
“The pathway to recovery will be uneven, reflecting different impacts of the energy transition across regions, sectors, and oil products. World gasoline demand might never return to its 2019 level, while diesel demand growth will slow markedly. Efficiency improvements, the transition to electric vehicles and changes in consumer habits will offset part of the impact of strong economic growth and the demand dynamism from developing countries,” IEA said in its Oil 2021 outlook.
Aviation, the sector the most affected by the pandemic, will continue to struggle, according to IEA.
“Jet fuel consumption will only return to 2019 levels by 2024 as travel restrictions, changing travel habits, and the relatively slow progress of vaccinations in low-income economies cap its recovery. The proliferation of online meetings and conferences, along with cost cuttings by companies, are likely to permanently dent business travel.
By contrast, the petrochemical industry that accounts for the majority of ethane, LPG and naphtha demand suffered relatively little from the Covid crisis and will continue to post healthy growth. Together, these products will be responsible for 70% of the growth in oil product demand through 2026 compared with the 2019 level. Globally, after a recovery period lasting until 2023, actions taken to implement the energy transition will slow demand growth. Strong demand growth in developing economies, however, will more than offset a contraction in high-income ones,” reads the report.
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