The Minister of Environment and Energy, Maria da Graça Carvalho, said today that the Government “has the legal means to act” in the event of a potential loss of national control over the Sines refinery, the only one in the country.
Commenting on Galp’s willingness to analyze new business opportunities after the end of negotiations with Moeve, which would give the Spanish partner 80% control of the Sines refinery, the minister dismissed the possibility that in the future there could be a “loss of national sovereignty” over that energy infrastructure.
She exemplified with Decree-Law 138/2014, which provides for the refusal of entry of investors from a non-EU Member State into strategic assets, and with European Regulation 452/2019, which allows opposition to non-EU investments in critical infrastructures.
“If it is European investment, there must be a way to negotiate, but we will do everything to maintain that sovereignty,” the minister stated.
Graça Carvalho also cited another European regulation from 2026, on “security of critical infrastructures,” which the Government could have applied to oppose the deal between Galp and Moeve, had it been finalized.
“We have always been following, we knew these possibilities existed, but it was not our fault that the agreement was not made,” she added, noting that negotiations were conducted “without upheavals.”
On October 26, Galp announced the end of negotiations with Moeve for a potential combination of refining and fuel marketing businesses, due to the parties not reaching an agreement, without providing further details.
Moeve is controlled by Mubadala Investment Company, the Abu Dhabi sovereign wealth fund, and by the American Carlyle Group.
On October 29, during a hearing as part of the discussion of the State Budget for 2027 (OE2027), the Minister of Economy and Territorial Cohesion, Castro Almeida, stated that Galp’s decision regarding the end of negotiations with Moeve “is sovereign,” but guaranteed that the Government fulfilled its role “as one would expect.”
