- The biofuels plant is part of the new company, Cepsa Bioenergía
- Following its recent acquisition from Abengoa Bioenergía San Roque and subsequent refurbishment, the plant has resumed operations with 51 employees.
Cepsa Bioenergía's new biofuels plant in San Roque, formerly owned by Abengoa Bioenergía San Roque, is back onstream after a shutdown which lasted more than a year and a half. The unit produces renewable-origin fuels from processed vegetable oils.
Following its acquisition last February, the company has been working on inspecting and maintaining the facility.
Carlos Olivares, in charge of the Bios business, says that “different areas of the company and the local auxiliary companies involved in the whole process and, especially, the plant's personnel, have made a huge effort over the last few months to make the start-up a reality. This has meant the new unit has been swiftly integrated in the production chain in San Roque and has been rolled out in a record time. Last June, once the inspection of the plant had been completed, the vegetable oils - the raw material used in biofuels manufacture - were unloaded for the first time.
Cepsa Bioenergía's biofuels plant stands next to the Gibraltar-San Roque Refinery facilities (Cádiz) and is fully integrated into Cepsa's industrial complex in the municipality, which allows for great synergies and better use of resources. The new plant will have a production capacity of 200,000 tons of FAME and 25,000 tons of glycerin, with the professional support of highly qualified workers, mostly from the Campo de Gibraltar region.
Cepsa in Andalusia and San Roque
Cepsa has operated in Andalusia for over 50 years, and has created over 3,600 direct jobs, as well as more than 2,600 indirect jobs and 6,000 temporary posts. Cepsa also tops the production and revenues ranking in Andalusia with more than 14,500 million euros, 10% of Andalusian GDP. Cepsa has more than 1,400 direct employees in San Roque, 3% of Cádiz province’s total industrial sector. In 2016, the Company announced a 5-year investment plan of over 130 million euros to improve its petrochemical facilities in San Roque; the plan includes immediate investment of over 50 million in major projects to improve energy efficiency, safety and compliance with environmental regulations at its centers in Andalusia.