Amid the upheaval imposed by the coronavirus pandemic, 2020 global energy consumption in the transportation sector is forecast to decrease 10% year/year, led lower by an 11% drop in oil consumption, the International Energy Agency (IEA) said Thursday.

Aviation fuel consumption

This decline is expected to account for nearly two-thirds of the total expected year/year pullback in oil demand, IEA said in a monthly fuel report.

In a previous report issued in November, the Paris-based global energy watchdog reduced its 2020 oil demand forecast by 400,000 b/d and said it expects an annual contraction of 8.8 million b/d. IEA estimated global oil demand to average 91.3 million b/d for the year. For 2021, demand is projected to increase by 5.8 million b/d year/year, but well below 2019 levels.

“The Covid-19...