
Galp Energia, SGPS, S.A. is a
Portuguese multinational
energy corporation, headquartered in
Lisbon
Lisbon ( ; ) is the capital and largest city of Portugal, with an estimated population of 567,131, as of 2023, within its administrative limits and 3,028,000 within the Lisbon Metropolitan Area, metropolis, as of 2025. Lisbon is mainlan ...
,
Portugal
Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic, is a country on the Iberian Peninsula in Southwestern Europe. Featuring Cabo da Roca, the westernmost point in continental Europe, Portugal borders Spain to its north and east, with which it share ...
. Galp consists of more than 100 companies engaged in every aspect of the
oil and
natural gas
Natural gas (also fossil gas, methane gas, and gas) is a naturally occurring compound of gaseous hydrocarbons, primarily methane (95%), small amounts of higher alkanes, and traces of carbon dioxide and nitrogen, hydrogen sulfide and helium ...
supply,
hydrocarbon exploration
Hydrocarbon exploration (or oil and gas exploration) is the search by petroleum geologists and geophysicists for hydrocarbon deposits, particularly petroleum and natural gas, in the Earth's crust using petroleum geology.
Exploration methods
...
and
production;
refining
Refining is the process of purification of a (1) substance or a (2) form. The term is usually used of a natural resource that is almost in a usable form, but which is more useful in its pure form. For instance, most types of natural petroleum w ...
, trading, logistics and retailing; co-generation and
renewable energy
Renewable energy (also called green energy) is energy made from renewable resource, renewable natural resources that are replenished on a human lifetime, human timescale. The most widely used renewable energy types are solar energy, wind pow ...
. Galp was founded in 1999 through the merger of Petrogal, Gás de Portugal and Transgás. As of 2020, it is the largest oil and gas group in Portugal, where it distributes gas and sells petrol.
History
Galp can trace its origins back to 1848 and the installation of Lisbon's first gas street lamps, but the current incarnation was formed through the merger of Petrogal, Gás de Portugal and Transgás, on April 22, 1999. The main historical business components include SACOR, CIDLA, SONAP and PETROSUL.
SACOR was one of the first Portuguese oil companies. In 1954, SACOR's activities extended to
Portugal's overseas territories; 80% of the
gasoline
Gasoline ( North American English) or petrol ( Commonwealth English) is a petrochemical product characterized as a transparent, yellowish, and flammable liquid normally used as a fuel for spark-ignited internal combustion engines. When for ...
,
kerosene
Kerosene, or paraffin, is a combustibility, combustible hydrocarbon liquid which is derived from petroleum. It is widely used as a fuel in Aviation fuel, aviation as well as households. Its name derives from the Greek (''kērós'') meaning " ...
, and
gasoil transported into the
Portuguese overseas province of Angola had to be refined on
continental Portugal's territory.
The Portuguese discovered oil in their overseas province of Angola in the 1950s. SACOR set up the Sociedade de Lubrificantes e Combustíveis (
ANGOL
Angol is a commune and capital city of the Malleco Province in the Araucanía Region of southern Chile. It is located at the foot of the Cordillera de Nahuelbuta and next to the Vergara River, that permitted communications by small boats to the ...
) in 1953 as its branch in Angola. By the 1960s, it was also participating in the exploration for hydrocarbons. In 1957, SACOR participated in the establishment of another oil company, MOÇACOR, in the
Portuguese overseas province of Mozambique.
After the
Carnation Revolution
The Carnation Revolution (), code-named Operation Historic Turn (), also known as the 25 April (), was a military coup by military officers that overthrew the Estado Novo government on 25 April 1974 in Portugal. The coup produced major socia ...
25 in April 1974, Portugal gave independence to its overseas provinces, with the ownership of the local SACOR branches being ceded to the new countries. SACOR was nationalized in 1975 by the
new Portuguese regime. In April 1976, Petróleos de Portugal (PETROGAL) was formed by the merger of SACOR with three other nationalized oil companies (CIDLA, SONAP and PETROSUL). In the same year, the brand GALP is created as the
trademark
A trademark (also written trade mark or trade-mark) is a form of intellectual property that consists of a word, phrase, symbol, design, or a combination that identifies a Good (economics and accounting), product or Service (economics), service f ...
for the PETROGAL products, with the initial version of its famous "G"
logo
A logo (abbreviation of logotype; ) is a graphic mark, emblem, or symbol used to aid and promote public identification and recognition. It may be of an abstract or figurative design or include the text of the name that it represents, as in ...
being launched in 1978.
In 1999, Galp Energia is created as the
holding company
A holding company is a company whose primary business is holding a controlling interest in the Security (finance), securities of other companies. A holding company usually does not produce goods or services itself. Its purpose is to own Share ...
for the Portuguese State-owned oil and gas business, controlling PETROGAL and Gás de Portugal (GDP). In the same year, the process of privatization of Galp Energia is initiated.
In March 2004, Galp proposed selling a 51 percent stake in Gás de Portugal to
EDP;
Eni
Eni is an Italian oil and gas corporation.
Eni or ENI may refer to:
Businesses and organisations
* Escuela Nacional de Inteligencia, the Argentine intelligence academy
* Groupe des écoles nationales d’ingénieurs (Groupe ENI), a French engi ...
agreed to buy the remaining 49 percent. In December 2004, the
European Commission
The European Commission (EC) is the primary Executive (government), executive arm of the European Union (EU). It operates as a cabinet government, with a number of European Commissioner, members of the Commission (directorial system, informall ...
blocked the transaction. Galp Energia's
initial public offering
An initial public offering (IPO) or stock launch is a public offering in which shares of a company are sold to institutional investors and usually also to retail (individual) investors. An IPO is typically underwritten by one or more investm ...
on the
Lisbon Stock Exchange
Euronext Lisbon is a stock exchange in Lisbon, Portugal. It is part of Euronext pan-European exchange. The most famous index is PSI-20.
Euronext Lisbon trades equities, public and private Bond (finance), bonds, participation bonds, warrants, cor ...
took place in the second half of 2007.
In 2007, Galp bought Eni’s operations for marketing oil products in Portugal and Spain. In 2011, talks between Eni and
Petrobras
Petróleo Brasileiro S.A., better known by and Trade name, trading as the portmanteau Petrobras (), is a Brazilian state-owned enterprise, majority state-owned multinational corporation in the petroleum industry headquartered in Rio de Janeiro. ...
for the latter to buy Eni's 33.3 percent stake in Galp collapsed over the price of the stake. From 2012 to 2014, Eni continuously reduced its stake in Galp. In 2016, Galp and Petrobras broadened an existing cooperation accord to include offshore oil research and development projects and exploration and production partnerships.
In 2020, Galp partnered with Spanish engineering firm
ACS to create Titan Solar, a renewable energy joint venture, and bought solar power projects from ACS for 2.2 billion euros ($2.38 billion). By 2022, it bought the 24.99 percent it did not already own for 140 million euros ($142.5 million).
In 2021, Galp joined forces with battery developer
Northvolt on Aurora, a joint venture to develop Europe’s largest lithium processing plant with a total investment of up to 700 million euros.
Operations
Galp Energia, SGPS, S.A. is organized into four business units, which include, Upstream, Refining & Midstream, Commercial, and Renewables & New Businesses. The company carries out these operations through four subsidiaries, including:
*Galp Energia E&P BV and its subsidiaries engage in the development, exploration and production of oil and gas and biofuels.
*Petróleos de Portugal - Petrogal, S.A. and its subsidiaries carry out activities in the area of crude oil refining and marketing.
*Galp Gas & Power SGPS, S.A. and its subsidiaries operate in the natural gas, electricity and renewable energy sectors.
*Galp Energia, S.A., a company that operates and integrates the corporate services.
Controversy
In 2007, the European Commission fined Galp 8.7 million euros ($12.33 million) for playing a role in a
cartel
A cartel is a group of independent market participants who collaborate with each other as well as agreeing not to compete with each other in order to improve their profits and dominate the market. A cartel is an organization formed by producers ...
and coordinating
bitumen
Bitumen ( , ) is an immensely viscosity, viscous constituent of petroleum. Depending on its exact composition, it can be a sticky, black liquid or an apparently solid mass that behaves as a liquid over very large time scales. In American Engl ...
prices in Spain, along with three other companies.
In 2016, Spanish antitrust body
CNMC fined the Spanish arm of Galp 400,000 euros ($448,280) for abusing consumer rights after having received a number of complaints since mid-2012 of company representatives changing users’ power supplier to Galp without the consumers’ consent.
In 2025, Galp's chief executive Filipe Silva resigned following a company investigation into an anonymous complaint about an alleged personal relationship between Silva and a female company manager reporting to him.
[Sergio Goncalves (7 January 2025)]
Portugal's Galp CEO resigns after alleged relationship probe
''Reuters
Reuters ( ) is a news agency owned by Thomson Reuters. It employs around 2,500 journalists and 600 photojournalists in about 200 locations worldwide writing in 16 languages. Reuters is one of the largest news agencies in the world.
The agency ...
''.
References
External links
*
{{DJSI World
Oil and gas companies of Portugal
Automotive fuel retailers
Electric power companies of Portugal
Holding companies established in 1999
Companies based in Lisbon
Companies listed on Euronext Lisbon
Portuguese brands
1999 establishments in Portugal
Multinational companies headquartered in Portugal