The oil retining industry in Cartagena (Spain), 1950-2015

Abstract

This article analyzes the evolution of production at Cartagena oil refinery, the first to be installed in the Iberian Peninsula. This refinery was inaugurated in 1950, and since then has been a reference in the national production of petroleum distillates. This paper details the political decisions that led to its implementation and development for decades. We also analyze the reasons and consequences of its recent modernization and enlargement. An investment of more than 3,000 million euros has been made due to: its strategic location next to one of the best ports of the Mediterranean for the transfer of oil and its derivatives; its connection with the interior refinery of Puertollano through a double pipeline; the availability of abundant soil, near and of own ownership, for the new facilities; and the need to obtain gas oils and kerosene, products of which Spain was deficient.