SPAIN DATA: Retail fuel demand down 24% in July as jet weighs

Barcelona — Oil product withdrawals by the Spanish retail market in July fell 24% year on year to 2.9 million cu m (2.3 million mt) as jet fuel demand continued to weigh on the total, Spanish national fuel distributor Compania Logistica de Hidrocarburos (CLH) said August 3.

While gasoline and diesel showed some signs of recovery from a record low second quarter, jet fuel demand was down 75% year on year at 190,000 cu m, with aviation companies running limited schedules and some European operators canceling flights amid renewed COVID-19 measures.

Nonetheless, overall jet demand in July rebounded from the 158,000 cu m total demand across April to June, which according to national reserves agency CORES saw the lowest quarterly fuel demand on record back to 1996.

In July, auto fuels showed some recovery, according to CLH.

Gasoline demand was down just 8% year on year at 501,000 cu m (376,000 mt), recovering from declines of 25% in June, 58% in May and 79% in April.

Diesel demand in July fell 11% year on year to 2.2 million cu m (1.9 million mt), a narrower decline than the 15% fall in June, 32% in May and 43% in April.

Spanish refiners have tailored operations to meet the declining demand. The country's largest operator, Repsol, said July 23 that it had been able to blend jet fuel into the diesel pool, meaning three of its five refineries -- Coruna, Bilbao and Cartagena -- had been able to produce zero jet while Puertollano and Tarragona had minimized output to adapt to the very low demand.

Repsol reported refinery operating rates of 70% in the second quarter, while competitor Cepsa saw a 74% rate. Cepsa said July 30 that it sees rates moving up to 85% in July and possibly reaching an optimal run rate by year-end, assuming the positive trend in demand continues.