CEPSA is investing 1.14 billion euros on refinery upgrades in Huelva, Spain

CEPSA is the industrial leader of Andalusia, heading the company ranking with a turnover of 12,160 million Euros, measured as the average value of its product sales. Its industrial plants provide direct employment to 3,895 people and indirect employment to another 4,000 through its two refineries (“Gibraltar-San Roque” and “La Rábida”), three chemical plants (Puente Mayorga, Guadarranque and Palos de la Frontera), five cogeneration plants and 50% of the combined cycle Nueva Generadora del Sur (NGS).

CEPSA’s expansion is concentrated on La Rabida refinery near Huelva on the south coast - 1.14 billion euros in total - where the company is increasing its capacity to produce middle distillates, particularly diesel auto fuel.

The Investment at La Rabida includes a new 71,000-barrel-a-day hydrocracker to maximise diesel production. This will have a capacity to produce 2 million tonnes a year of middle distillates a year, including diesel and jet kerosene.

Cepsa recently completed a light naphtha reformer. Additionally, with purchases of goods and services from local suppliers representing an amount of Euros 118 million in 2009, CEPSA generates further wealth within the community.

An overview of  La Rabida projects due for completion late 2009.

The Company has invested approximately 1,400 million Euros in Andalusia to construct and extend units that will increase the production of middle distillates and alleviate dependence on external resources, in addition to improving the energy efficiency of its plants.

The Huelva refinery produces a number of oil-derived products, which can be divided into two streams. The first produces Cumene, Phenol Acetone and Alpha-methylstyrene (AMS)while the second produces methylamines and derivatives. The products are used in industry, agriculture, construction, cars and pharmaceuticals.

Raising CEPSA’s total crude oil distillation capacity only 17% will increase middle distillate production by 39%, thereby reducing its dependence on imports.

The refinery processes around 100,000 barrels a day, and CEPSA nearly double its refining capacity by 2010. The spike in demand for automotive diesel on the European market and the consequent decline in gasoline consumption, compounded by the increase in air traffic, have all led to a shortage of kerosene and diesel fuels, which requires importing approx. 13 million tons of these products each year.

These projects will join a Light Naphtha Aromax Reformer that will produce 220,000tpa of benzene and 75t per day of hydrogen. The refinery will therefore raise its total benzene production to 361,000 tons per annum and hydrogen production to 165 tons per day.

The projects will raise jet kerosene and diesel fuel production by 3.2 million tons per annum. Total capital expenditures until 2010 will amount to €1,650m, €1,144m of which will be assigned towards expanding middle distillate capacity at Huelva, creating employment for 150 people.

Production Capacity Expansion Project of the “La Rábida” refinery places the refinery among the most efficient industrial plants in Europe. During the three years of its duration, the headcount for this project was 140 professionals, with an average of 1,427 additional casual workers employed by CEPSA on a daily basis bringing this figure up to 3,000 during peak periods, such as August 2009.

The project required the support of over 200 contractors, of which 50% were Andalusian companies or companies with a consolidated presence in the region. These are significant figures considering the current economic climate. In Huelva, CEPSA represents 2.7% and 10.2% of local and industrial employment, respectively, and 38.2% of the jobs provided by the industries included in the Association of Basic Chemical Industries of Huelva (AIQB).