Moeve, formerly known as Cepsa, (, "Spanish petroleum company,
S.A.")
is a Spanish
multinational integrated energy and
petroleum company headquartered at
Torre Cepsa in the
Cuatro Torres Business Area in
Madrid
Madrid ( ; ) is the capital and List of largest cities in Spain, most populous municipality of Spain. It has almost 3.5 million inhabitants and a Madrid metropolitan area, metropolitan area population of approximately 7 million. It i ...
.
As of 2024, Moeve produced approximately , reflecting its strategic shift after divesting upstream assets in
Abu Dhabi in 2023. The company operates three refineries with a combined refining capacity of approximately 21.5 million tonnes per year.
As of 31 December 2024, the company’s share capital is primarily held by Cepsa Holding, LLC (61.36%), controlled by
Mubadala Investment Company, a
sovereign wealth fund of the government of Abu Dhabi, and Matador Bidco S.À.R.L. (38.41%), controlled by
The Carlyle Group.
Moeve, which rebranded from Cepsa in October 2024, is undergoing a strategic shift toward
low-carbon energy, focusing on
green hydrogen,
biofuels, and
electric mobility, supported by an €8 billion investment plan.
History

Cepsa was founded in 1929 as a private company led by Francisco Recasens, with its first refinery located at Tenerife in the Canary Islands. Because of the
Campsa state monopoly of fuel distribution, Cepsa sold its production to that company. It expanded to lubricant production in 1950 and petrochemical products in 1955. In 1964 it opened a factory in Portugal, and in 1967 it added a second refinery at San Roque de Cádiz. After relaxations of the state monopoly, Cepsa bought a portion of Campsa petrol stations in 1992.
In 1988,
Abu Dhabi's
International Petroleum Investment Company (IPIC) bought a 10% stake of Cepsa. Later
Elf Aquitaine bought a 20% stake, and Cepsa became a publicly traded company in 1989. Cepsa bought a third refinery in Huelva in 1991, and entered the
liquefied petroleum gas
Liquefied petroleum gas, also referred to as liquid petroleum gas (LPG or LP gas), is a fuel gas which contains a flammable mixture of hydrocarbon gases, specifically propane, Butane, ''n''-butane and isobutane. It can also contain some ...
market in 1998. The company expanded to the United Kingdom, Netherlands, Canada, Algeria, Brazil,
Colombia
Colombia, officially the Republic of Colombia, is a country primarily located in South America with Insular region of Colombia, insular regions in North America. The Colombian mainland is bordered by the Caribbean Sea to the north, Venezuel ...
and
Peru
Peru, officially the Republic of Peru, is a country in western South America. It is bordered in the north by Ecuador and Colombia, in the east by Brazil, in the southeast by Bolivia, in the south by Chile, and in the south and west by the Pac ...
. In 2011 IPIC bought the full company for 267 million euros.
In November 2013, the firm agreed to buy Coastal Energy Co for around $2.21 billion.
The American private equity firm The Carlyle Group completed the acquisition of a 38.1% stake in Cepsa from Mubadala on 8 April 2019.
On October 30, 2024, Cepsa officially changed its name to Moeve, a measure destined to reflect its orientation towards sustainable strategies and low-emitting energy projects.
In 2024 Moeve reported a net profit of €92 million, reversing a €233 million loss in 2023, driven by gains in its energy and chemicals divisions despite a 30% drop in refining margins.
[ The company is shifting its focus to low-carbon energy backed by an €8 billion investment plan that includes a €1.2 billion biofuels plant.][ Moeve has divested 70% of its oil production assets since 2022 and aims to become a key player in the green hydrogen industry with a 2-gigawatt target by 2030.][
]
Refineries
Cepsa operates 3 refineries in Spain, with 50% ownership of a fourth. Cepsa operates the largest refinery in Iberia, the Gibraltar-San Roque Refinery, which has received significant international criticism for ongoing air pollution problems and increased cancer rates nearby. Cepsa also operates the Refinería de Santa Cruz de Tenerife, La Rábida Refinery, and a 50% split refinery with ASESA.
Sponsorship
Cepsa has sponsored the Spanish football club Recreativo de Huelva between 1997 and 2007, Spain national football team since 2007 and since 2011 has been one of the major sponsors of the Toro Rosso Formula One
Formula One (F1) is the highest class of worldwide racing for open-wheel single-seater formula Auto racing, racing cars sanctioned by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA). The FIA Formula One World Championship has been one ...
racing team until 2015 but not directly supplying fuels and lubricants.
References
External links
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1929 establishments in Spain
Energy companies established in 1929
Non-renewable resource companies established in 1929
Companies based in Madrid
Natural gas companies of Spain
Oil companies of Spain
Spanish brands
Automotive fuel retailers
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