Spain LPG consumption rebounds in 2018

18 July 2018:

LPG consumption in Spain has rebounded in 2018 after steady declines in the second half of 2017. Although consumption is still lagging from a year-earlier.

Total LPG consumption in the first four months of 2018 was 924,000 t, up by 56% from the previous four months but 2% lower than the year-earlier period, according to the most recent data from CORES. The nearby graph shows Spain’s monthly LPG consumption by sector since 2016.

Consumption of LPG fell sharply from September to December of last year in the cracking pool as LPG lost its competitive advantage over naphtha with relatively higher LPG prices. The crackers in Spain are primarily naphtha- based, but some of the plants can take up to 30% propane. Between September and December of 2017 LPG consumption in the petrochemical sector fell to just 106,000 t, down from 405,000 t consumed in those same months in 2016. In 2018, total consumption has increased to 294,000 t though April, underscoring rising naphtha prices which has given an edge to LPG.

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