Half of the gas stations in Spain are already of alternative brands to the big oil companies

2023-07-14 06:30:25

Thirty years after the end of the monopoly of Campsa, half of the gas stations in Spain are already of alternative brands to the big oil companies. Repsol, Cepsa, BP and Galp accumulate a total of 6,143 service stations of the total of 12.084 existing throughout the territory, according to the memory of the year 2022 of the Association of Petroleum Operators (AOP), published this Thursday. The rest of the groups add up to 5,941, the 49% of the suppliers.

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In the last ten years, the big brands have practically maintained the aggregate same number installations -in 2011 there were 6,538, 6% more than now–, while the smaller operators have gradually gone increased its presence by 70%thus reducing the share of the big four from 63% to 51%. Repsolthe company with the most points of sale with a total of 3,304, has ceded 312 facilities, cepsa 32 y Galp 46, while BP He has added about 106 to his portfolio.

Despite the cuts in large companies, the expansion of alternative gas stations has meant a growth in the number of service stations of 16% in the last decade, after a growth between last year and this 274 new gas stations in total. The biggest push of the entire period, after the 307 service stations installed between 2017 and 2016.

Traditionally, the oil sector was a regulated sector. It was managed by the Petróleos Monopoly Leasing Company (Campsa) under a monopoly the storage, distribution and sale of fuels in service stations until its liberalization in 1993. At that time, the number of stations was half the current number, but with the arrival of new brands the number of companies began to increase, something unusual in the European context where the process is the On the contrary, according to a report from the National Commission for Markets and Competition (CNMC) of 2019.

automatic gas stations

But if something meant a change, it was a new package of measures approved in 2013 that facilitated the opening of new facilities by reducing the restrictions on land and which led to the takeoff of the so-called automatic gas stations (those that lack staff or have a minimum number). There are no official data on the number of unattended service stations in Spainbut the National Association of Automatic Service Stations (AESA), which brings together the big brands such as Ballenoil and Petroprix, the figures in some 1.900.

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This amount coincides, approximately, with the increase in gas stations between 2012 and 2022. And it leads to unattended facilities having a fee close to 16% of all service stations What is in Spain? Although the highlight is the rate of growth, Well, since 2019 they have more than doubled. Then, this same association, quantified them at 882, while in 2021, at 1,277.

The increase in supply represents a increased competition and therefore better prices. Although in the last year due to the energy crisis derived from the war in Ukraine were recorded historically high prices, with the maximum in June of last year, of 2.13 euros per liter in the case of gasoline and 2.03 euros per liter for diesel. Then, the smaller brands complained to the National Commission for Markets and Competition (CNMC) because the big ones were favored by their verticality to put the best prices.