The modernization of the Spanish petrochemical sector. The construction of the Málaga-Puertollano oil pipeline

Abstract

This article constitutes a first approach to an ongoing study on foreign technical consulting for the construction of energy infrastructure in Spain during the developmentalist period, with special attention to the role of Italian companies in projects related to the development of the petrochemical industry. In this work, we examine the evolution of ENCASO's autarkic proposals towards the conversion of its Puertollano facilities into a petrochemical complex and the construction of the pipeline that ensured the supply of raw materials. The Empresa Nacional Calvo Sotelo (ENCASO), created in 1942, was integrated into the National Institute of Industry (INI). Its objective was the production of hydrocarbons and lubricants from lignite and bituminous shale, in a context of shortages and autarkic aspirations. The project to build an industrial complex in Puertollano absorbed enormous resources and was excessively prolonged. When the plant was completed in 1956, the domestic and international situation was very different in terms of production, trade, and consumption. The plan then arose to convert the facilities into a petrochemical complex to supply the central region of the country with products such as liquefied gas, fuel oil, naphtha, bitumen, lubricants, and other petroleum derivatives. The refinery project entailed the construction of an oil pipeline, which would be the first major oil transportation infrastructure project for civil use in Spain. The project, conceived as a cornerstone of the country's gradual shift towards dependence on oil and its derivatives, was largely the result of Spanish-Italian technical collaboration. Technologies and working methods were introduced that were pioneering in the country in a sector closely linked to the key energy raw materials of the second half of the 20th century.