Galp joins forces with Spain’s Moeve

In a bid to expand its refinery and fuels business, Portugal’s multinational petroleum and gas group Galp Energia is to forge a business alliance with Spain’s global energy company Moeve. (formerly Cepsa), a company that is big on renewables and sustainable energy.

Galp had been focused on oil exploration in the Mopane basin off Namibia where it recently announced an agreement in which it would deliver 40% of the oil to France’s Total in order to support its own investments, getting stakes in other fields in the region.

Now with Galp’s upstream strategies completed, the company is now focusing on downstream according to Maria João Carioca, co-CEO of Galp in an interview with the business daily Negócios.

“What we’ve got on the table are two joint ventures in refining and distribution which, if successful, will enable us to gain scale.”

Together with Moeve, Galp will now begin evaluating the potential creation of two Iberian energy platforms – a mobility platform focused on fuel retail (including electric vehicle charging) and convenience; and an industrial platform focused on refining, petrochemicals, trading and low-carbon fuels.

“The idea is to gain scale. There is a lot happening in the energy sector and a lot of investment is required so we want to create a platform focused on differentiated business and investments that bring competitiveness,” said the Galp co-CEO.