Repsol

Repsol S.A.[3][4] 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.[5] 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. Repsol's business strategy includes hydraulic fracturing (fracking) operations on the Alaska North Slope, a method used to extract hydrocarbons from shale formations. As of 2021 Repsol had a renewable energy division.[6]

History

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.[16]

Its name derives from the founding company REPESA for its visibility and easy pronunciation in different languages. In 1991, the Instituto Nacional de Hidrocarburos (INH), before the imminent demise of the state oil monopoly, set the goal to create a company of mixed public-private capital, which exploited state oil assets. When looking for a name a survey at street level was performed and the only two words that people recognized and associated with the world of oil were CAMPSA (badge of the former monopoly) and REPSOL; obviously, this last one was chosen to name the new company.[17]

"A short, round, sonorous and catchy name was searched. As many terms of the language sink their roots in Latin, here the first letters of a small company of lubricants (Repesa) were used, and the term is completed with the star that identifies Spain in the cultures of the north. Repsol is one of the few names of companies that do not obey an acronym or joins that obsession of putting together letters of horrific names. And that was the first hit".[18]

Business areas

Brief chronology

• 1948 incorporation REPESA (Refinería de Petróleos de Escombreras S.A.) created for the installation of a refinery in the Valley of Escombreras, Cartagena (Spain).[23]
• 1981 Creation of INH: Public organization created to integrate the various companies operating in the oil and gas in which the Spanish state had a controlling interest or was the sole owner.[23]
• 1986 Creation of the Repsol group: Its sole shareholder is the INH. Repsol brings together the companies in which the Spanish state had a controlling interest in the areas of exploration and production (old Hispanoil), refining (formerly ENPETROL), chemical and liquefied natural gas (LNG), Butane (former Butano S.A.), CAMPSA and Petronor. Repsol Chemical (Alcudia), initially a subsidiary of Repsol Petroleum, which will then be a subsidiary.[24]
• 1989 The State (INH) began the privatization of Repsol. IPO of 26% of Repsol Capital. Repsol shares, S.A. upgraded trading on exchanges in Spain and New York.[24]

Expropriation of YPF

In May 2012, the Argentine president Cristina Fernández de Kirchner, proposed the expropriation of 51% of Repsol's shares in YPF. The Republic of Argentina's Yacimientos Petrolíferos Fiscales Act that was passed that summer made officially possible the expropriation of Repsol's shares. Repsol went to various international bodies to pursue legal action directly after losing its shares of YPF.[7] The expropriation was an attempt by the Argentine government to nationalize its oil and gas production. Results however show that the move to nationalize actually hurt oil production in Argentina. Compared to the oil production in 2011, YPF's oil production in 2012 fell by 8%, according to data from Argentina's Department of Energy.[26]

Repsol had the backing of the EU and the US, and both powers condemned Argentina's move as expropriation. President Fernández claimed that the state would seize 51% of YPF.[27] In June 2013, Repsol rejected a $5 billion proposal from Argentina to compensate for the 2012 expropriation. The proposal also would have given Repsol drilling rights to 6.4% of the massive Vaca Muerta shale-gas field. The board of Repsol unanimously rejected this offer, as it would have caused them to drop a $10.5 billion lawsuit that was in progress against the Argentine government. Repsol at the time owned 6.4% of YPF.[28]

Environmental record

In 2011, Repsol built the world's first service station certified by BREEAM, "the leading international method for evaluating and certifying building sustainability". The construction of the station was completed under green architecture parameters, utilizing multiple recycled materials.[7] The publication Newsweek selected Repsol as the most environmentally respectful energy company of 2012.[30] However, recent reports of Repsol drilling in the indigenous lands of the Peruvian Amazon display a disregard for the environment. According to an Environmental Impact Assessment, Repsol's exploration of the rainforest will involve drilling at least 21 wells. Although Repsol denies it, 20 of the 21 wells fall within the land of indigenous people, who are very vulnerable to any sort of contact with foreigners.[31]

In 2016, Repsol ranked as being among the 12th best of 92 oil, gas, and mining companies on indigenous rights in the Arctic.[32] In 2021, Repsol was ranked no. 9 in the Arctic Environmental Responsibility Index (AERI) that covers 120 oil, gas, and mining companies involved in resource extraction north of the Arctic Circle.

Sponsorship

Repsol has been a longtime sponsor of motorsport. It has partnered with Honda Racing Corporation to compete in MotoGP under Repsol Honda Team since 1995, winning titles with legendary riders such as Mick Doohan, Àlex Crivillé, Valentino Rossi, Nicky Hayden, Casey Stoner, and Marc Márquez. This sponsorship ended in 2025, after an unfruitful year for Repsol Honda following Marc Márquez's switch to the Ducati Corse team.[41] Previously, it supported two-time world rally champion Carlos Sainz until 1997,[42] Formula One teams Jordan Grand Prix in 1998,[43] Arrows Grand Prix in 1999–2000 and Scuderia Toro Rosso from 2018, and the Mitsubishi Ralliart factory program at the Dakar Rally until 2009.

See also

• Repsol Honda

External links