Gasoline consumption and imports in Indonesia this year could hit the record following the recovery from travel restrictions of Covid-19, although the growth is expected to slow down together with its economy.
The rapid increase of imports would strain the gasoline market in the region, and could raise Asian refinery margins for the fuel. It could speed up the plan to add methanol and ethanol to gasoline to reduce dependency with overseas supplies.
In 2023, gasoline consumption of Indonesia hit an all time high of 670,000 barrels per day(bpd), increased from 2022 of 635,000 bpd, said consultancy Rystad Energy.
Sofia Guidi Di Sante, senior oil markets analyst at Rystad Energy said that the main driving force behind the growth of demand was a recovery from Covid-19 pandemic.
Indonesia’s gasoline import exceeded the pre-pandemic level at 380,000 bpd and it could rise to 390,000 to 400,000 bpd in this year, said Consultancy Wood Mackenzie.
Ranice Tan, research analyst at WoodMac notes that the demand is expected to be strong with healthy economic growth and mobility.
