Domestic demand for oil products, natural gas and electricity fell significantly in April amid government measures to stem the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic, said the Ministry of Energy, Mines and Energy Transition.
As far as demand for oil products is concerned, it dropped by 59% in April 2020 compared to the same period of 2019, demand for diesel fell by 63% and demand for gasoline decreased by 60%.
The demand for kerosene declined by 99.9% and demand for industrial fuel waned by 90%.
The ministry explained this decline by the government measures taken against the COVID-19 pandemic since March 22, referring, in particular, to general lockdown which greatly affected economic activity in the last week of March 2020 and that got worse in April.
The same source said demand for natural gas shrunk by 26% in April 2020; gas consumption fell by 48% and its use in the production of electricity dropped by 16%. As for electricity demand, it went down 20% in April 2020, compared to April 2019.
The ministry had said Saturday that fuel prices will be adjusted on a monthly basis, in accordance with the decision to be issued by the Minister of Energy, Mines and Energy Transition and the Minister of Finance on March 31, 2020.
