Chairman Antonio Brufau and CEO Josu Jon Imaz from Spanish energy and petrochemical company Repsol (Madrid; www.repsol.com) were on hand for a signing ceremony with the Portuguese government in mid-October 2021 for the supplier’s proposed domestic investment in Sines.

The company plans to invest EUR 657m to build two plants for 300,000 t/y each of polypropylene and “linear” polyethylene (see Plasteurope.com of 14.07.2021). The polymers produced will be fully recyclable, Repsol noted. Imaz said he expects the Sines complex to become a European benchmark, and that the advanced materials it produces will play an important role in the decarbonisation of society.

The Portuguese government considers the project of “potential national interest”, a qualification reserved for investments that significantly contribute to the country’s economy. The project, Portugal’s largest industrial investment in the past 10 years, is to benefit from tax incentives of up to EUR 63m.

Repsol has already awarded a lumpsum turnkey contract to Italy’s Tecnimont (Milan; www.mairetecnimont.com) for engineering, procurement and construction services for the project (see Plasteurope.com of 09.08.2021).