Fuel Overview

Guatemala is a net importer of oil-derived fuels, most of which come from the United States. Among the ten main imported products to Guatemala, Gasoline occupies position number 4. At national level, the main fuel consumed is diesel, and it has a high impact on the cost of transporting goods and passengers. 

The import of fuel is mainly done through two corridors: From the Atlantic side, through Puerto Barrios and Santo Tomas de Castilla. In Puerto Barrios, the import is done by Chevron, and in Santo Tomas, Unopetrol and Puma Energy.  The imports consist of gasoline, diesel, kerosene, bunker and aircraft fuel. On the pacific side, though San Jose port and Puerto Quetzal, the import is done by Unopetrol, Chevron, Puma Energy, Blue Oil and Pacific Oil. Those companies import mainly gasoline, diesel, kerosene dual use and bunker. 

Fuel Supply & Storage

Guatemala Infrastructure of Service Stations 

The registry of companies of the General Directorate of Hydrocarbons indicates that there are 1,534 operating licenses for service stations in force in the country. The largest concentration of service stations is in the department of Guatemala, where the largest percentage of the vehicle fleet in the country, followed by the departments of Quetzaltenango, Petén and San Marcos. 

Guatemala Fuel Monthly Consumption 2022, volume expressed in barrels (55 US gl = 250 lt) 

According to figures from the Ministry of Energy and Mines (MEM), between January and May 2021, the national consumption of gasoline and diesel was 13 million 170 thousand 761.54 barrels (of 42 gallons), while in the first five months of In 2022, consumption was 12 million 847 thousand 507.09 barrels, a drop of 2.45%. 

The prices of liquefied petroleum gas in Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras, Costa Rica and Panama include subsidies; even so, Guatemala maintains the highest pricing, according to the Fuel Price Report of the Ministry of Energy and Mines. 

Use of Gas LPG 

In 2020, the final energy consumption in Guatemala determined that Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG) represents 3.6% of the energy matrix. That is, 3,410.52 kBEP (kilo barrel of oil equivalent).  

In domestic use, it is the second main source of energy for cooking. A total of 1,432,144 homes (43.7%) use propane gas, although the main source of energy for most of the homes in the country continues to be firewood, which is used by 1,782,861 homes (54.4%).  

LPG is used in households with a wide range of incomes, including those below the poverty line. Households are quite resilient to price volatility in both directions (increase/decrease). The desire for the cylinder to last as long as possible contributes to continued reliance on firewood, especially when a large quantity of food must be cooked. Moreover, firewood continues to pay a role as an emergency source of energy when LPG is unavailable for technical or economic reasons. In other words, firewood contributes to a sense of energy security of the household. 

Use of Ethanol 

The actual Guatemalan government, through the Ministry of Energy and Mines would be promoting the use of ethanol to alleviate, in the long term, the effects of the fuel market. They are currently hosting a series of workshops with the ethanol-producing industry in Guatemala, with vehicle and fuel importers. There are 3 sugar mills and 5 ethanol distillers whose production is exported and consumed in California (USA). 

For more information on government and fuel provider contact details, please see the following links:  4.1 Government Contact List and 4.7 Fuel Providers Contact List.

Information may also be found at: http://www.mytravelcost.com/petrol-prices/ which is updated monthly. 

Fuel Pricing

Until the end of May 2022, Guatemala is the nation that recorded the highest fuel prices in Central America. For example, if one considers that there was already an upward trend before the European conflict, from January 2021 to May 2022, the price of superior gasoline in Guatemala rose more than 180%, going from 3.09 dollars per US gallon (24.34 quetzals) in January 2021, at 5.59 dollars per US gallon (44 quetzales as of May 2022).  

Exchange rate: 1 GTQ =  0.13 USD / 1 USD = 7.85 GTQ , effective October 2022 

01 US liquid gallon = 3.79 Litres / 1 litre = 0.26 US liquid gallon 

Despite the fact that Guatemala approved in mid-May a subsidy of five quetzals (0.64 usd)  for a gallon of superior and regular gasoline, and seven quetzals (0.89 usd) for diesel, it continues to have high prices. 

(*)Kerosene is a specific type of paraffin. Paraffin tends to be a more refined and distilled version of kerosene. This makes it more suitable for use within the home. Paraffin is more refined, which ensures that it will produce a lot less soot when it's burnt. Kerosene is often referred to as kerosene so, while there is an overlap between the terms paraffin and kerosene, paraffin has a broader meaning and a wider range of applications. 

Seasonal Variations 

Fuel Transportation

The Internal transport is done though tanker truck.  The transport of petroleum products (gasoline, diesel, kerosene, AV-Jet, AV-gas, bunker C, oily mixtures y liquefied gas), at national level is done through road tanker and, for liquefied gas, with gas tanker. https://www.mem.gob.gt/wp-content/uploads/2015/06/4._RTCA_Transporte_de_liquidos.pdf. Fuel transport fleet vehicles in Guatemala is US built, observing US fuel transportation standards.  

For intra Central America transport the standards meet the: Technical Regulation of The Central American Customs Agreement 

Standards, Quality and Testing

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