Galp’s refinery to shut down for 50 days this year. Company will invest 200 million in maintenance
The scheduled stoppage will be used to guarantee the replacement of equipment, taking into account its life cycle at the 47-year-old plant.
Galp is going ahead with maintenance work and an increase in energy efficiency at the refinery in Sines, representing an investment of 200 million euros. These works will require a 50-day stoppage, which will only affect one of the three plants.
The scheduled stoppage will be used to guarantee the replacement of equipment, taking into account its life cycle. As for the other interventions, spread throughout the year, ‘the aim is to increase competitiveness by reducing energy costs and reducing emissions,’ said Cristina Cachola, director of Galp’s Sines refinery.
‘On a cyclical basis, we make major maintenance stops. We invest in the integrity of the assets,’ she added in a meeting with journalists as part of a visit to the facilities in Sines.
She also said that these costs are part of the ‘normal management of the refinery’ and that maintenance work accounts for two thirds of the refinery’s costs. These interventions will take place at the so-called plant 1, which will be 47 years old in 2025. Galp also has two other plants in the Sines industrial complex.
In previous years these maintenance works ended up having an impact on the company’s results, because there is a reduction in refining capacity.