Galp, a Portuguese company, is confident that it will find other markets in the event of US tariffs.

The Portuguese oil company Galp Energia is confident that it can find other destinations for its gasoline exports.

Galp's Executive Board member Ronald Doesburg who is responsible for industrial assets said on Tuesday that the company will be able deal with a drop in demand from Americans due to higher prices resulting from proposed tariffs of 25%.

Galp's Sines refinery produces approximately 2 million metric tonnes of gasoline each year. Of this, between 1.2 and 1.5 million tons is exported to the United States. The Portuguese market takes the remainder.

Trump has threatened to impose a 25% tariff on all European goods. This could lead to a trade conflict that is damaging for European export-oriented companies.

Doesburg stated that "the energy market is global and gasoline streams are also global. Therefore, our gasoline production has the flexibility to reach different markets."

He said that tariffs would impact the market, but that they will be managed. "We will examine our options", he added, noting that Galp had dealt with trade disruptions before and that Sines might be re-aligned to different products depending on demand and prices.

SUSTAINABLE AVIATION FUEL

Sergio Machado, Galp's director of hydrogen, stated that Galp is continuing its transition to greener fuels. It expects to produce biodiesel, and sustainable aviation fuel, from wastes, such as used kitchen oil, at the unit it plans to build at its refinery by mid-2026.

The Hydrogenated Vegetable oil (HVO) 400 million euro plant is a joint venture between Mitsui and Mitsui Japan, with a 75 to 25 percent share. It will have an annual production capacity 270,000 tons, using green hydrogen produced by a 100 megawatt electric electrolyser costing 250 million euros.

Machado stated that "our expectation is to have two units in production mid-2026, and to achieve cruising speed shortly after." ($1 = 0.9254 euro) (Reporting and Editing by Andrei Khalip, David Goodman, and Sergio Goncalves)

(source: Reuters)