The Ethiopian Petroleum Supply Enterprise (EPSE) said that the demand for petroleum products in the country had significantly dropped since the COVID-19 pandemic began.

The Chief Executive Officer of the enterprise, Tadesse Hailemariam, said that the pandemic had slowed down economic activities in the country; after the World Health Organization (WHO) declared the virus a global pandemic in March, benzene and jet fuel consumption dropped by 20 and 70 per cent respectively, though diesel consumption remained the same.

According to him, before the pandemic, on average, Ethiopia’s daily consumption of benzene was about 2.2 million litres, diesel consumption was about 9 million litres, and jet fuel was about 2.6 million litres. Due to the pandemic, benzene consumption dropped to two million litres, diesel dropped to 8.5 million litres, while jet fuel dropped to 1 million litres.

According to data obtained from the EPSE:

In March, the enterprise had planned to import 50 and 71 metric tons of benzene and jet fuel respectively, but ended up importing 45  and 29 metric tons.

In April, the enterprise had planned to import 49 and 74 metric tons of benzene and jet fuel respectively, but ended up importing 39 metric tons of benzene and no jet fuel.

In May, the enterprise had planned to import 49 and 475 metric tons of benzene and jet fuel respectively, but ended up importing 42 metric tons of benzene, and zero jet fuel.

As the country with arguably the continent’s largest airline, the Ethiopian Airline,  it used to have a high need for jet fuel but due to international travel restrictions, it has only been operating domestically. Commenting on the jet fuel drop, Tadesse said, “We used to bring two vessels of jet fuel. In March we had only one fuel tanker carrying jet fuel. In April and May we did not order for any shipment. We have been using the jet fuel imported in March. Our national carrier is operating cargo flights only. Other airlines are not operating at all.”

The declining price of fuel in the global market also dealt the country a blow. He said due to lack of adequate storage facilities, Ethiopia could not take advantage of the low prices.  “There was a time when the petroleum producers wanted to clear the stock because they run out of storage space. One day in March the price of a barrel of jet fuel was five dollars. Unfortunately, in Ethiopia we do not have jet fuel depot so we could not store jet fuel.”

The country stopped importing benzene from Sudan due to the closure of borders to help manage the spread of coronavirus. Ethiopian fuel tankers have not been able to transport benzene to the country. He said even though the Sudan supply had been suspended, that from UAE via the port of Djibouti was enough to meet the local demand.