Portugal crude oil storage expansion

The Portuguese government has announced a 60 million euro public investment to expand national crude oil storage capacity. This initiative is intended to repatriate approximately 132,000 tonnes of strategic oil reserves that are currently stored in a salt cavern in Manosque, France, under a ten-year contract with Géosel. This amount represents less than a tenth of the nation’s total reserves.

Minister of Environment and Energy Maria da Graça Carvalho stated that the reliance on French storage resulted from a lack of domestic capacity following the 2021 closure of the Matosinhos refinery by Galp, which reduced the country’s crude and fuel storage capacity by one-third. While the state maintains 92 days of liquid fuel reserves—remaining above the 90-day reference level—it has been noted that nearly 40% of the state’s total strategic reserves are held outside the country, including reserve ‘tickets’ in the Netherlands and Italy.

While the new infrastructure is expected to take four to five years to complete, the minister emphasized that storing reserves in France is a “common European practice” and does not compromise energy security. However, the project faces political scrutiny from the Socialist Party (PS) and the Portuguese Communist Party (PCP) regarding costs and long-term financial implications. Additionally, the country’s remaining refinery in Sines is scheduled for a partial shutdown during October.