Galp closes Matosinhos refinery next year

Portuguese oil company Galp will concentrate its refining operations and future developments at the Sines complex and discontinue refining in Matosinhos from next year onwards, the company announced on Monday.

In a statement sent to the Securities Market Commission (CMVM), Galp said it would “continue to supply the regional market by maintaining the operation of the main facilities for importing, storing and shipping existing products in Matosinhos”, and that it was “developing appropriate solutions for the necessary reduction in the workforce and assessing alternatives for use in the complex”.

The company says that “structural changes in oil consumption patterns motivated by the regulatory context and Covid-19 have had a significant impact on Galp’s downstream industrial activities,” and that “fuel supply and distribution in the country will not be impacted by this decision.

This reconfiguration “will allow for a reduction of more than €90m per year in fixed cost and investment and about 900kt of CO2 and emissions associated with the current system,” it said.