Galp wants partnerships for its renewable business, says CFO

Galp Energia SGPS SA, Portugal’s biggest oil company, said it wants partners for its renewable energy business in different countries where it operates.

“We’re growing all our traditional businesses, including upstream, but the renewables business is going to grow so much faster than you would want eventually to have partnerships in different countries, or different projects, without necessarily having to do an IPO of the renewables company,” Galp Chief Financial Officer Filipe Silva said.

Silva said Galp wouldn’t rule out merging the renewables business with somebody else as long as it keeps management control. Asked if he talks to potential partners in renewables, he said “every day.”

Galp has followed other large oil producers in expanding in renewable energy and acquired a stake in a portfolio of Spanish solar projects in 2020. Among other assets, it also operates the Sines oil refinery in Portugal and holds stakes in offshore oil blocks in Brazil.

The Portuguese oil company said in June 2021 that its net annual average investment in the 2021-2025 period will be between 800 million euros and 1 billion euros as it spends on upstream development and in renewable energy projects, which will represent about 30% of the capital expenditure.

Galp aims to have an operating renewables capacity of more than 4 gigawatts by 2025. Its gross renewable installed capacity increased to 1,268 megawatts at the end of September.

—Bloomberg