ENERDEALERS OBSERVATORY – Hydrocarbon Consumption in Spain: 2022-2024
- Enerdealers Editorial
- May 4, 2025
- 2 min read
Enerdealers International Research Center "Rafael Gispert"
Spain’s hydrocarbon consumption landscape between 2022 and 2024 presents a picture of high but evolving demand, marked by post‑pandemic normalisation, sector‑specific rebounds, and the emergence of early structural transitions.
Total hydrocarbon consumption remained robust throughout the three‑year window, moving from 52.04 million Mt in 2022 to 51.18 million Mt in 2023, before rising sharply to 53.34 million Mt in 2024, its highest level in the period. This final‑year rebound (+4.22%) confirms the resilience of Spain’s liquid‑fuel demand, even in the context of rising electrification, efficiency pressures and persistently high prices.
Beneath these headline figures, however, the composition of consumption is shifting in ways that will shape the next phase of Spain’s energy trajectory. Diesel —traditionally the core of the Spanish fuel system and the backbone of freight, logistics and part of private mobility— contracts in both 2023 and 2024, falling from 31.66 million Mt in 2022 to 30.04 million Mt in 2024 (–5.1% cumulative). More significantly, diesel’s share of total consumption drops from 60.8% to 56.3% in just two years, marking the first multi‑year erosion since the pre‑pandemic period.
Diesel consumption attributable to the independent retail segment amounts to approximately 15.6 million Mt in 2024, equivalent to an average of around 1.3 million Mt per month.
In contrast, fuels linked to mobility and tourism —kerosene and gasolines— exhibit the strongest expansion across the entire hydrocarbon spectrum. Aviation fuels rise from 5.87 million Mt in 2022 to 7.39 million Mt in 2024 (+26% cumulative), driven by the full recovery of international air travel and Spain’s exceptional tourism performance. Gasolines follow a similar upward path, growing from 5.76 million Mt to 6.53 million Mt (+13.5% cumulative), supported by the normalisation of commuting and the resilience of a large legacy gasoline fleet.
Fuel oils show a characteristic cyclical profile, dipping by –6.46% in 2023 before rebounding by +15.98% in 2024 to 7.94 million Mt, reflecting changes in industrial output, generation mixes and energy‑price arbitrage. LPG remains stable within a narrow range (1.35–1.43 Mt), confirming its niche, low‑volatility role. Biofuels, meanwhile, remain negligible in absolute terms (<0.1 Mt), despite a sharp statistical rebound in 2024 due to the extremely low baseline of 2023.
On the infrastructure side, Spain’s retail station network continues to expand and diversify. The total number of service stations grows from 12,346 in 2023 to 12,631 in 2024, an annual increase of +2.3%, marking the highest expansion in recent years. Independent operators now represent ~45% of stations (≈5,736), the closest they have ever been to parity with the major integrated refining groups (Repsol, Moeve –formerly Cepsa–, BP and Galp), who collectively hold ~48% of the network (≈5,937 sites). This confirms the progressive decentralisation of the retail landscape and the growing influence of low‑cost and regional operators.
Taken together, the 2022–2024 period depicts a fuel system in transition: structurally stable in aggregate yet increasingly differentiated across fuel families; anchored in diesel and conventional hydrocarbons, yet showing clear signals of diversification driven by tourism, mobility recovery, industrial cycles and emerging electrification. The trends observed here will shape the strategic and operational context for Spain’s energy, mobility and retail‑fuel sectors as the country moves deeper into the energy‑transition decade.
