July 4, 2016 [OPIS] - The U.K. motorists' thirst for diesel shows little sign of abating, with demand rising by 411,000 metric tons between January and April, up 5.5% year-on-year, extending a long-running tend. But, there were higher percentage increases in propane, butane and naphtha demand to feed petrochemical plants, data from the U.K. government shows.
Diesel is the most commonly used petroleum product in the U.K., and demand of 7.98 million tons in the first four months of the year was more than gasoline and jet fuel combined, some 3.86 million tons and 3.45 million tons, respectively.
Gasoline demand in the U.K continued to slip, with deliveries to forecourt garages 42,000 tons lower between January and April year-over-year, despite little difference in the pump price.
Jet fuel deliveries to airports also fell slightly, down 35,000 tons between the first four months of this year and last.
But it was the light end of the barrel that showed the highest percentage rise in U.K. demand.
Naphtha sales increased to 480,000 tons between January and April, up 187,000 tons from last year, or a rise of 68%, figures from the Department of Energy and Climate Change showed.
But, demand for the feedstock has been waning, slipping lower month-on-month after peaking at 145,000 tons in January.
Naphtha demand in April fell to 90,000 tons, although this was still 31,000 tons higher than a year earlier.
Meanwhile, demand for butane and propane totaled 1.36 million tons over the first four months of the year, up 272,000 tons from the same period a year earlier.
Deliveries of the liquid petroleum gases to U.K. plants reached 328,000 tons in April, the highest monthly volume since April 2011, and up 104,000 tons from a year earlier, outstripping the 97,000 tons year-on-year rise in diesel demand that month.
