Domestic demand for petrolium products fell by 5% between the end of May 2022 and the end of May 2023, to 1,781 ktoe (kilotonnes of oil equivalent), according to the monthly report on the energy situation in May 2023, published on Friday by the National Observatory for Energy and Mines.
The Observatory pointed to a fall in demand for LPG of 2%, fuel oil of 28%, petrol of 4% and diesel of 6%.
On the other hand, demand for aviation jet fuel rose by 14%.
The structure of petroleum product consumption did not change considerably, with the exception of a few products, notably fuel oil, whose share rose from 5% at the end of May 2022 to 4% at the end of May 2023, and jet fuel, whose share rose from 4% to 5% over the same period.
Consumption of road fuels fell by 5%, given that they account for 62% of total consumption of petroleum products. LPG consumption was down by 2%.
However, consumption of petroleum coke rose slightly by 2% (data partially estimated), given that this product is used exclusively by cement works and can be substituted by natural gas and heavy fuel oil.
The consumption of jet fuel, on the other hand, increased by 14%, following the revival of the air transport sector, which was hit hard by the repercussions of the Coronavirus pandemic.
Total demand for natural gas fell by 10% to 1,799 ktoe (kilotonnes of oil equivalent). Demand for electricity generation dropped by 10%, while demand for final consumption was down by 11%.
The power generation sector remains by far the largest consumer of natural gas (64% of total demand at the end of May 2023), with over 97% of power generation based on natural gas.
The fall in demand from the electricity sector is due to the limited availability of natural gas and does not reflect demand from the electricity sector.
For end uses (excluding power generation), natural gas demand decreased by 11% to 653 ktoe.
Demand from medium- and low-pressure customers fell by 5% and from high-pressure customers by 25%.
Source: Agence Tunis Afrique Presse