How much fuel did Ecuadorians consume in 2022 in the automotive sector?

In 2022, automotive fuel consumption returned to pre-pandemic levels. The consumption that had fallen in 2020 as a result of the confinement due to COVID-19 and the lack of economic activity has recovered. However, although the Government made efforts to put better octane and quality fuels on the market, the structure of consumption continues to lean towards less environmentally friendly fossil fuels, whose prices are frozen.

Thus, in Ecuador, 53.4 million barrels of fuels between diesel and gasoline (super, extra, ecopaís and ecolpús) were consumed. This figure is 5.36% higher than what was consumed in 2021 and is 0.6% higher than the figure for 2019. The figures are published in Petroecuador’s December Statistical Report.

Possibly consumption could reach a higher figure, but in June there was a significant drop due to the indigenous paralysis that developed, precisely demanding an extension of subsidies and the freezing of fossil fuel prices.

Of the fossil fuels, the one with the highest consumption in the Ecuadorian automotive sector continues to be premium diesel with 23.3 million barrels, a figure 7.03% higher than in 2021, the year in which 21.8 were consumed. million barrels.

Meanwhile, 14.4 million barrels of ecopaís gasoline (85 octane) were consumed, 8% more than the 13.4 million in 2021. Extra gasoline (85 octane) also registered a growth of 6.7% when passing from 12.3 million to 13.2 million barrels in 2022.

While the lowest consumption gasolines were the best quality, but also at the highest price. It is that super gasoline, which had 92 octane, but is now at 95 octane, went from a consumption of 2.4 million barrels in 2021 to 1.6 million in 2022. In other words, it registered a drop of 33.7 %.

For its part, ecoplus 89 gasoline has represented a consumption of just 26,047 barrels in all of 2022. In any case, this value only represents what was consumed between August, the month in which the pilot plan was launched, until December. Consumption was rising in the first three months: 2,444 barrels in August, 5,657 in September and 6,608 in October, to suffer a drop in November and December: 5,876 barrels and 5,462 barrels, respectively.

According to Oswaldo Erazo, executive secretary of the Chamber of Distributors of Petroleum Derivatives (Camdeppe), the sale of the super continues to register a downward consumption. The price of gasoline increased in 2022, going from $3.6 per gallon in January to $5.20 in July, although it ended at $4.15 in December. Thus, the participation in the super gasoline market with respect to the entire automotive fuel market was 3%. Only in December did it have a participation of 2.5%. If the participation of the super is taken into account, without including diesel, that is, only between gasolines it occupied 5.5% annually, while only in December it was 4.6% of consumption. Erazo has indicated that they expect the consumption of the super to improve in January 2023, due to the drop in price. This month the suggested price is $3.98.

On the other hand, Erazo says that the ecoplús stayed on the road and for now it represents only 1 per 1,000 of the consumption of automotive fuels. He explains that in December only 34 distributors purchased the product. This number of stations represents a significant reduction if one considers that when the program was launched there were more than 80, and then the participation of 60 was confirmed. (I)