Repsol S.A. () is a Spanish multinational energy and petrochemical company based in Madrid. It is engaged in worldwide upstream and downstream activities. In the 2022 Forbes Global 2000, Repsol was ranked as the 320th-largest public company in the world. As of 2022, it has 24,000 employees worldwide.
It is vertically integrated and operates in all areas of the oil and gas industry, including exploration and production, refining, distribution and marketing, petrochemicals, power generation and trading. The business strategy also includes a renewable energy division.
History
CAMPSA and REPESA
In 1927, CAMPSA (Compañía Arrendataria del Monopolio de Petróleos S.A.), headed by Miguel Primo de Rivera y Orbaneja, was created with the objective of administering concessions in handing over the state monopoly of petroleum companies. Originally the company was arranged so that the state would have a minority stake. The Creation of CAMPSA intensified the progress of the Spanish refinery industry.
In 1941, the Spanish government under Francisco Franco created the INI (National Industry Institute), in order to finance and promote Spanish industries. The INI supported CAMPSA in its exploration of Tudanca, Cantabria, a monumental moment in Spanish exploration on the Iberian Peninsula. The year 1947, marked the end of a 20-year contract between the Spanish state and CAMPSA, decentralizing services while at the same time giving specific rights to the state to intervene in the company's affairs, minus distribution and commercialization, which remained exclusive to CAMPSA.
In 1948, REPESA (Refinería de Petróleos de Escombreras S.A.) was incorporated for the installation of a refinery in the Valley of Escombreras (Cartagena).
REPESA became the symbol of the increasing industrial consolidation in the refining sector, as it took on the production and marketing of petrol, oils and lubricants under its own brand name.' From the beginning, REPSOL was REPESA's "star brand" of petroleum as a REPESA product brand.
International expansion
In 1999, Repsol bought 97.81% of the Argentine oil and gas company YPF S.A., which at the time was the largest oil-and-gas company in Ibero America. The acquisition better positioned Repsol as a multinational company. Repsol's acquisition of YPF also increased its capital to 288 million shares worldwide. Repsol's presence in Latin America was one of the keys to corporate growth. It was the first full year after the acquisition of YPF and the consolidation of Gas Natural SDG by global integration. The company's business structure was more balanced and international. Then in December 2001, Repsol completed an asset exchange agreement with Petrobras, making it the second largest consolidated oil company in Brazil. The same year Repsol announced new discoveries in Libya, Indonesia, Spain, Venezuela, Argentina, and Bolivia, prompting the development and marketing of its electricity business through Gas Natural SDG. In 2003, Repsol tripled its reserves and production of hydrocarbons in Trinidad and Tobago. North American expansion in 2008, saw Repsol open a massive regasification plant on the east coast of Canada with enough capacity to supply up to 20% of the gas demand for New York and New England.
Canary Islands
Following years of opposition from environmentalist groups, Spain finally gave permission in August 2014, for the company and its partners to explore prospects off the Canary Islands. Eventually, in January 2015, after two months of exploration about 50 kilometers off the coasts of Fuerteventura and Lanzarote, the company said in a statement it only found small deposits that were not worth drilling thus scrapping the project.
Change to the company profile
In 2008, Repsol began an intensive exploration campaign in which it focused its efforts on and invested in exploring in new areas, with results that enabled the company to change its profile. Using cutting edge technology, the company made over 30 hydrocarbon discoveries, many of which were considered to be among the largest in the world. This efforts was recognized by Petroleum Economist magazine as the "Best energy company of the year".
Talisman acquisition
In December 2014, Repsol announced that it would buy Canadian oil company Talisman Energy in a transaction worth about $15.1 billion Cdn ($13 billion US).
Company name and origins
In 1971, the Repsol logo first appeared, as REPESA (Refinería de Petróleos de Escombreras S.A.) brand product, in the Motorcycling World Championship of that year.