Repsol YPF

World leadership in LPG

Repsol is one of the leading retail distributors of LPG in the world and ranks first in Spain and Latin America. The company operates in nine countries in Europe and Latin America.

LPG sales in 2010 totalled 3,108 thousand tons, 3.8% more than in 2009. For their part, total sales in Spain grew by 0.9% compared with the previous year. Repsol distributes bottled, bulk, and piped LPG in Spain through collective distribution networks and has more than 10 million bottled LPG customers supplied through a network of 243 distribution agencies. Bottled LPG sales accounted for 61% of total retail LPG sales in Spain in 2010.

(1) Brazil
(2) Includes sales to the automotive market, LPG operators and others.

LPG margins in 2010 were lower than the previous year, in particular in the bottled gas channel in Spain, due to the modification of the pricing system by the Spanish Ministry of Industry, Tourism and Trade in September 2009. According to the new formula, 25% of the price to be applied in the forthcoming quarter would be linked to international prices at the end of the previous quarter and the remaining 75% would depend on the maximum price prevailing at the end of the quarter just ending. The variation in this formula had an adverse impact on fourth quarter 2009 results and in those of 2010; if this trend remains in place and international prices continue to climb, 2011 results will also be adversely affected.

In Portugal, Repsol distributes bottled and bulk LPG to end customers and supplies other operators. Sales in 2010 reached 162,000 tons, making the company the third biggest operator with a 21% market share.

In Latin America, Repsol is the leading LPG distributor in Argentina, Ecuador, Peru, and Chile. It markets bottled and bulk LPG in Argentina to the residential, commercial, and industrial sectors, with sales totalling 332,000 tons.

Between 28 September and 1 October 2010 the 23rd World LP Gas Forum, 2010 AEGPL Congress, 25th AIGLP Congress & Global Technology Conference took place in Madrid, in which Repsol played a very active part. In these events, the importance of LPG was stressed in the fight against climate change and in improving air quality, as well as its role as a sustainable fuel with a leading position among alternative energy sources.

Over the last few years, Repsol has been developing several research, development and innovation programmes based on the use of LPG as an alternative fuel. A few examples of this are the SolarGas application, a ground-breaking, integral energy supply system combining solar energy with LPG to provide hot water to homes and businesses in a sustainable, economic manner with very low CO2 emissions; the Autogas application, where LPG is used as an automotive fuel with considerable environmental advantages due to its low emissions compared to other fuels; and new uses in agriculture, fishing and the development of products and services, such as Portugal's Easy Gas, etc.