Government weighs legal options over Galp-Moeve deal

Portugal’s government is examining what legal powers it may have to intervene in the planned Galp-Moeve deal, as it seeks guarantees that the Sines refinery remains in Portugal and prioritises national supply in times of crisis.

Environment and Energy Minister Maria da Graça Carvalho told parliament on Wednesday that the government was “studying all possible legal avenues for action” regarding the proposed partial merger between Portuguese energy company Galp and Spain’s Moeve, formerly Cepsa.

According to Eco and Lusa, the agreement involves Galp and Moeve’s shareholders — Abu Dhabi sovereign wealth fund Mubadala Investment Company and US investment fund The Carlyle Group — discussing the merger of their refining, petrochemical and fuel retail portfolios in the Iberian Peninsula.

Carvalho said the fact that Moeve’s investors are based outside the European Union gives Portugal “certain legal powers to act”. The government also has leverage through the State’s 8.24% stake in Galp, she said.

“These two tools enable us to act,” the minister told MPs during a hearing of parliament’s Environment and Energy Committee.

The government’s priorities, she said, are to ensure Portugal retains “the power to prevent the refinery from leaving Portugal” and the ability to guarantee supply in a crisis.

Carvalho said Portugal must continue to have “a refinery on Portuguese soil” and ensure that, in an emergency, the Sines facility has Portugal “as its main supply target”.

The minister referred to the recent crisis in the Middle East, saying Galp had played a vital role in guaranteeing fuel supplies, particularly aviation fuel. She said the company had assured the government that Portugal would have jet fuel and that the Sines refinery would secure 80% of domestic production.

“Galp has never let us down,” she said, while adding that the government wants that priority to be guaranteed “regardless of who the shareholders may be”.

The process is being coordinated with legal experts and different government departments, under Finance Minister Joaquim Miranda Sarmento, to assess possible scenarios and define Portugal’s position.

Carvalho also sought to reassure workers and the Sines region, saying the government was doing everything possible to ensure the refinery remains in Sines and that employment conditions are protected.

However, she warned that keeping the refinery in Portugal would not be enough on its own. The site must also remain economically viable and adapt to the energy transition.

“We have no interest in Sines’ future being Matosinhos,” she said, referring to the closure of Galp’s former refinery in Matosinhos, where plans are now underway to redevelop the site into a large-scale Innovation District.

Carvalho said the government wants Sines to remain open, but also to become “transformed, viable and sustainable”, producing new energy products such as sustainable aviation fuel, advanced biofuels and green hydrogen.

The minister acknowledged that, if Sines becomes part of a broader Iberian industrial platform alongside Moeve’s refineries in Huelva and Cádiz, Portugal’s goal will be to safeguard the location and strategic role of the Portuguese refinery.

She also said national and European regulators were assessing the deal, adding that areas such as fuel retail, distribution and electric mobility may require regulatory intervention.

Galp has indicated the operation could be completed by the end of July, but Carvalho said that timetable may be difficult to meet, as “several matters” remain unresolved.

Source: Eco/Lusa