Repsol CEO Josu Jon Imaz has accused the market and competition regulator, CNMC, of “not doing its job” when it comes to identifying those responsible for the blackout that Spain suffered on April 28, 2025. “The regulator has chosen to spread the blame and open investigations into all companies for situations that are not even related to what happened with the blackout, and the only thing that has done is create confusion,” he said during the conference with analysts that the executive held this Thursday to present the company’s first-quarter results.
The investigations opened by the CNMC in recent weeks refer to non-compliance by companies not only during the day or days prior to the blackout but also during the two years before. “That creates confusion, which is probably what was intended.”
Imaz confirmed that Repsol started the damage claim process last week to receive appropriate compensation for having its refinery operations stopped for five days, with estimated losses of 105 million euros, which is what Repsol has officially claimed.
“We started this process last week and, before filing any lawsuit, the law requires inviting the opposing party to seek an agreement. In this regard, last week Repsol already fulfilled this procedural requirement. We sent formal notifications, known as burofaxes, to Red Eléctrica and to the distributors with whom our industrial centers have contracts. And if this prior attempt is not satisfactory, Repsol will formally file the corresponding lawsuits against all these companies,” Imaz explained.
The executive expressed full confidence in the Spanish judicial system and recalled that Repsol has previous experience in a similar situation. In 2016, due to a power outage at its Petronor refinery in Bilbao, a 2022 Supreme Court ruling confirmed full compensation for Repsol’s subsidiary, Petronor. “I trust the justice of this country and that on this occasion we will also receive full compensation,” the executive stated.
Supply assured
On the other hand, Repsol’s CEO assured that the company has all its refining capacity working at 100%, and that until May it increased its kerosene production by 25% to guarantee demand.
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“We have even postponed maintenance activities at our refineries in Cartagena and Tarragona to take advantage of all our capacity and ensure that this summer both our customers in Spain and the rest of the needs of other actors have their needs covered and to cover any disruption that may occur in the market,” Imaz assured.
Repsol’s CEO acknowledged during the conference with analysts held to present the results that the “most difficult part of his presentation is offering a prediction of what may happen in the coming months. I don’t have a crystal ball,” he admitted.
In his opinion, even if the Strait of Hormuz were to open today, the impact on price increases would continue in the coming months. The impact will depend on the evolution of geopolitical events and the damage suffered by energy facilities, the real extent of which is currently unknown.
“Repsol has the flexibility to adapt to whatever happens, as its exposure to the Middle East is very limited and other markets such as Venezuela are offering possibilities for increased production,” the executive commented.
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