LPG
The obligation to maintain minimum security stocks (emergency stocks) of liquid petroleum gases (LPG) in Spain currently means holding stock equivalent to 20 days of eligible sales or consumption, which must be maintained at all times. These stocks are wholly held by the obligated entities. Currently CORES does not store strategic stocks of liquid petroleum gases.
The entities obliged to maintain minimum stocks of LPG are wholesale operators, retail companies (for the part not supplied by wholesale operators) and consumers (for the part not supplied by wholesale operators or retail companies).
Up to 40% of the mandatory stocks can be held in the form of raw materials. To do this, the companies must have a raw material-to-product transformation coefficient approved by the Ministry for the Ecological Transition and the Demographic Challenge.
Eligible sales are those sales that go to final consumption, distributors or service stations and take place during the previous calendar year, with a three-month delay, corresponding the first quarter. Thus, for the calculation of the obligation from April 1 of the year A+1 as of March 31 A+2, sales or consumption recorded during the calendar year A shall be deemed.
During an obligated entity’s first 15 months of activity, the eligible sales are substituted by an annual sales forecast approved by the Ministry for the Ecological Transition and the Demographic Challenge.
Sales between operators, sales destined for export (including to EU countries) and those destined for international maritime shipping are not counted as eligible sales.
Stocks that can be counted toward minimum stocks are those that meet the requirements established in art.10 of RD 1716/2004, of 23 July.
The stocks maintained can either be owned or rented by the obligated entity, provided that the leases are previously issued to the Corporation, and must be fully available in either case. They can be held in the entity’s own facilities or in others that are third partie property. Volumes cannot be transferred or rented to others.
The stocks can be held within the national territory or in other countries with which Spain has signed a bilateral agreement (currently these are: France, Italy, Portugal and Ireland). Stockholding abroad is limited to 40% of each company’s individual obligation, as long as the overall total is not more than 15% of all of Spain’s stocks.
Only 90% of the stocks held can be counted for the purposes of maintenance of minimum stocks.
Those obligated entities that belong to the same business group can meet the obligation to maintain minimum security stocks collectively, if so authorised by the Ministry for the Ecological Transition and the Demographic Challenge.
