Monthly global liquid fuels consumption 2019-2022

Worldwide consumption for liquid fuels is forecast to reach 102.14 million barrels per day by the end of 2023. Travel restrictions induced by the coronavirus pandemic resulted in consumption of petroleum products falling as low as 81.83 million barrels per day in April 2020, but have since slowly returned to pre-pandemic levels. In 2020, global crude oil demand decreased for the first time since the 2009 financial crisis, falling to an estimated annual average of 91.3 million barrels per day.

Regional variances

Despite the pandemic having found its way to even the remotest corners in the world, not all regions have been affected the same. In China, where the virus originated in late 2019, complete lockdowns of highly impaired areas resulted in a comparatively quick recovery of liquid fuel consumption. When demand crashed in other major economic powerhouses around the world, including neighboring India, China was able to maintain its high petroleum products use.

U.S. still greatest petroleum consumer

The United States remains the largest consumer of petroleum. The fossil fuel serves a great array of functions from being a feedstock in the petrochemical industry to its use as a raw material for transportation fuels. Population numbers, economic size, industry presence, and wealth of its residents all contribute to a country’s need for this commodity. In the United States, petroleum consumption amounted to over 900 million metric tons in 2020, more than the combined consumption of both China and India.