Demand for petrol and diesel falls sharply during pandemic 

Demand for petrol and diesel has continued its sharp fall during the Covid-19 pandemic.

Demand for petrol and diesel has continued its sharp fall during the Covid-19 pandemic, with the lowest number recorded for a November in 20 years, according to official figures.

Central Statistics Office (CSO) data showed excise clearances of unleaded petrol were almost 38% lower in November 2020 compared with November 2019. 

Excise taxes are paid when alongside purchases of specific products, such as petrol or diesel.

The figure for unleaded petrol of 53 million litres was the lowest excise clearance for a November from 2000 to 2020, the CSO said.

It said the figure reflected the impact of Covid-19, a change in the fuel type composition of licensed vehicles, and the move towards hybrid and electric vehicles.

The cumulative total for unleaded petrol volumes for January to November 2020 was 27% lower than the equivalent period for 2019, the CSO added.

November petrol clearances down 38% on 2019https://t.co/FcAxRipWwd #CSOIreland #Ireland #Environment #EnvironmentalSubsidies #EnvironmentalAccounts #FuelExcises #FuelClearances pic.twitter.com/6ZfTQ4Zdf9

— Central Statistics Office Ireland (@CSOIreland) January 7, 2021

It was not just petrol that saw a sharp drop in recent month, the data showed.

The volume of excise clearances of diesel was just under 17% lower in November 2020 compared with November 2019.  

The total for diesel volumes for January to November 2020 was almost 15% lower than the same period for 2019.

Home heating also showed discrepancies compared to a year earlier.

Clearances of kerosene, which is mainly used as a heating fuel, in November 2020 were 14.6% lower than the same month a year previously, while excise clearances of marked gas oil were similar in both months.

Marked gas oil is used for off-road purposes such as agriculture and heating of larger buildings, according to the CSO.

There were large decreases for March to May 2020 in the wholesale price index for gas oil and fuel oil, which may have had an impact on some advance purchases of heating oils, it added.

A similar price drop occurred for September 2020, which may have had an impact in the rise in clearances of marked gas oil.

The annual volume of diesel and unleaded petrol clearances were both at about 2bn litres 20 years ago, according to the CSO data. 

Since then, there has been almost a doubling of the quantity of diesel excise clearances and a halving of unleaded petrol excise clearances, evidence of the shift towards diesel vehicles as petrol's position as fuel king was toppled.

Unleaded petrol clearances increased to 2.4 billion litres in 2007 before dropping continuously since then, largely due to changes in the vehicle taxation system, which resulted in a substantial switch to diesel cars, the CSO said.

In 2019, clearances of unleaded petrol were 1bn litres.

Annual clearances of marked gas oil were 1.6bn litres in 2000, decreasing to 1bn litres in 2014, before increasing by 9.5% to 1.1bn litres in 2019.