Galp and Moeve cancel the integration project of their downstream businesses. The news was announced in January. Now the war in Iran has caused an increase in refining margins and makes it very difficult to agree on a long-term valuation. There is no intention to resume discussions in the medium term.
In the statement signed by both companies, they state that "they did not reach definitive terms that met their respective strategic and financial criteria to support a lasting and value-generating alliance".
The project was focused on the creation of two joint ventures. On one hand, refining through the integration of the refineries of Sines (Galp) and Algeciras (Moeve), a project that would have allowed a platform of 700,000 bd of capacity. On the other, Retail through the union of both brands which would have added 3,500 service stations. The market had taken for granted the closure of the operation which was already in a final negotiation phase.
Apart from the geopolitical factor due to the conflict in the Middle East, another motivation for the breakdown of the integration has been a purely Portuguese factor, as in the neighbouring country there was much noise because Sines is the only refinery left in the country. There were alerts from the Portuguese Communist Party to unions warning against "selling our only refinery to a foreign multinational".
Now both Moeve and Galp will resume their paths separately. Moeve will continue to focus on its Positive Motion strategy - to be a leader in green hydrogen (a 300 MW project and over €1,000 million in Andalusia) and biofuels. Its strategy never depended on the merger. Meanwhile, Galp will maintain its own plans and its Sines refinery under national control.
