Lisbon, Aug. 4, 2026 (Lusa) - Portugal's Association for Economic and Social Development (Sedes) has argued that the Galp-Moeve agreement affecting the Sines refinery has serious implications for the country and emphasised that the State has the power to safeguard strategic assets.
«This deal has complex and serious implications from a strategic perspective for Portugal. As is well known, oil refineries are assets involving a high degree of technological complexity and a great deal of embedded know-how […]. Whilst Spain has nine refineries, Sines is the only refinery on Portuguese territory,» Sedes pointed out in a statement on Monday.
The agreement between Galp and the Spanish company Moeve to merge their refining and marketing businesses is expected to be finalised in the second half of this year, the oil company announced in July.
As the association emphasised, should the deal go ahead, Portugal will become entirely dependent on decisions taken outside the country and the European Union regarding the supply of refined products.
Furthermore, technical expertise, research capacity and innovation will be lost.
Upon being included in a group of Iberian refineries, Sines will be managed according to the group's optimisation strategy, it added, warning that there is no guarantee that the investments needed to ensure its future operability will be made.
SEDES pointed out that Portugal has already witnessed the closure of the Matosinhos refinery, which led to the «consequent closure of the aromatics petrochemical complex and had an impact on the Estarreja petrochemical complex».
Added to this, according to the association, is Europe's divestment from its refining capacity, which has led to a reliance on fuel imports, particularly diesel from the US, the Middle East and India.
«[…] We must remember that the Portuguese State, in addition to its shareholding in Galp, holds sovereign powers […] which enable it to safeguard strategic assets essential to ensuring national defence and security, as well as the country's security of supply,» it emphasised.
The minister of finance has already stated that the Government is monitoring the process and will do everything in its power to «protect the strategic interests of the Sines refinery».
The agreement under discussion with the former Cepsa provides for the creation of two separate business platforms: one dedicated to fuel retail and mobility, which will bring together the petrol station networks and will be jointly controlled by Galp and Moeve, and an industrial platform, focused on refining, petrochemicals, trading and low-carbon fuels (such as biofuels and hydrogen).
In this industrial platform, Galp will hold a minority stake of over 20%, whilst the majority of the capital will be held by the shareholders of the Spanish company Moeve.
Among the assets potentially to be included is the Sines refinery, considered strategic for the national energy supply.
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