The state-owned think-tank Korea Energy Economics Institute (KEEI) said that oil products consumption in the country would likely to fall by 1% in 2020 amid economic weakness stemming from the coronavirus pandemic. The estimated decline represents 9 million barrels, or 25,000 bpd of lost demand, based on last year’s total oil product consumption of 933 million barrels.
South Korea consumed 373 million barrels of oil products in the first five months of 2020, down by 6 million barrels or 3.2% from the same period last year. Transportation contributed to most of the decline, with KEEI expecting demand from the sector to drop by 5.9% on the year. Demand for transportation fuels totalled nearly 113 million barrels or 623,000 bpd during the period, down by 11% year to date.
South Korea’s demand for jet fuel stood at 65,000 bpd in the January-May period, down by 39% from a year earlier, according to data from state-owned oil company KNOC. The country’s jet fuel consumption rose by 149.7% from April to 58,800 bpd in May, but it remained 44.8% lower than demand a year earlier.
According to the KEEI, South Korea’s overall energy consumption will drop by 1.4% in 2020 to around 299 million tons of oil equivalent (toe), as a 1% gain in natural gas cannot offset a 7.7% drop in coal demand. Energy demand fell 1.3% to 303.5 million toe in 2019, marking the first decrease since the Asian financial crisis of 1997-1998.
