Estonia started exporting liquid fuels in 2023
Last year, Estonia exported more liquid fuels converted to crude oil than it imported, data from the International Energy Agency (IEA) show. Due to rising shale oil production, this trend is forecast to continue.
In 2023, the amount of exported shale oil produced in Estonia totaled 1,194,000 tons when converted to crude oil. The amount used domestically in Estonia was 1,072,000 tons, the Estonian Stockpiling Agency (Eesti Varude Keskus) said.
Priit Enok, EVK board member, said shale oil consumption and production volumes have been stable in Estonia for several years.
"In the large statistical calculation, shale oil and petroleum products are considered in the same category, and the different fuel types are converted into tonnes of crude oil equivalent for comparison. We have been fluctuating for some time with a fuel export-import balance close to zero," he said.
Kai Kaljumäe, Statistics Estonia spokesperson, told ERR that more than 90 percent of the shale oil produced is exported. Other liquid fuels such as gasoline, diesel and jet fuel are imported for consumption.
"In 2023, petrol and diesel consumption fell slightly, and so imports of these fuels decreased. Demand for shale oil on the external market has increased, so in 2023, exports of liquid fuels exceeded imports by more than 20 percent," Kaljumäe said.
While becoming a net exporter of fuels is an interesting fact, Enok stressed that it has little effect on the supply security of the Estonian market.
"The gasoline, diesel and aviation fuel we use as motor fuels is 100 percent imported and made either from oil or from increasingly environmentally friendly renewable raw materials, rather than from oil shale.," said Enok.
However, when it comes to local heat production, shale oil is a significant alternative fuel, he noted.
EVK data shows 1.1 tons of converted shale oil was exported for every adult resident of Estonia in 2023 and one ton of liquid fuels was imported for domestic consumption.
Estonia's shale oil production set a new record high last year – 1,238,000 tons. As Eesti Energia's new oil plant will open later this year, it is likely to continue rising.
Estonia's trade balance of liquid fuels was also positive in 2020, EVK data shows, until it was affected by the coronavirus crisis. "Domestic consumption fell but exports remained stable," Enok said.
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Editor: Mait Ots, Helen Wright
