05/29/2012| 12:25pm US/Eastern

Investing 19.1 billion euros in the period Repsol presents its 2012-2016 Strategic Plan

Repsol Executive Chairman Antonio Brufau today presented the company's new strategic plan today to journalists, analysts and investors, laying out the main growth lines for the coming years. 

Repsol's 2012-2016 strategic plan includes an ambitious investment program of over 19 billion euros, self-financed with the company's own cash generation and divestments in non-strategic assets and which ensures adequate return to its shareholders.

The company also plans to almost double its net profit in the next five years from 2011, excluding YPF, through activity in the Upstream unit and cash generation from the Downstream and the LNG business units.  

The plan, which builds on Repsol's strengths, envisages a 1.9-times increase in operating profit from that posted in 2011, excluding YPF.

The Exploration and Production unit is the company's growth engine, with investment focused on exploration and 10 key growth projects, including some of the biggest exploration successes obtained by Repsol in recent years. The company will focus its activity on these ten projects in Brazil, United States, Russia, Spain, Venezuela, Peru, Bolivia and Algeria.

The Upstream area will require an annual investment of 2.9 billion euros, approximately 80% of the total investment envisaged by the Repsol Group in the strategic plan.

The development of these projects will result in an annual production growth rate of 7% to reach 500,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day in 2016. These production levels will drive an increase in reserves which will place the average replacement rate above 120% in the period.

Repsol's presence in several of the geographic areas with greatest potential in the world, and its recognised capacity in deepwater exploration, has positioned the company among those with the best growth prospects in the energy sector. 

Repsol's liquefied natural gas (LNG) business will take advantage of integration across the entire value chain and the flexibility of the business to maximize the profitability of Repsol's strong asset portfolio in the Atlantic and Pacific basins.  

The Downstream area (Refining, Marketing, Chemicals and LPG) becomes a cash-generating business, following the completion of its asset investment cycle. Operational expansion projects in the Cartagena and Petronor (Bilbao) refineries will raise the refining margin by about $3 per barrel in 2016, in addition to increasing the refining capacity and production of middle distillates in a market where there is currently a deficit of these products.  

Repsol's excellent downstream assets and their geographical situation will allow the company to maximize the return on the investments made in the last business cycle and in cash generation, making this business one of the most competitive in the sector. 

The 2012-2016 strategic plan envisages increasing the unit's profits through operational excellence, efficiency, and exploiting high-value options for growth with reduced capital needs. Thus, investments in this business segment shrinks by 50%, down to an average of 700 million euros a year over the period.

New Management Structure to support growth

To aid the execution of the strategic plan and focusing on the future vision, the Board of Directors approved, at the behest of the Chairman, a new management structure to reinforce its corporate and business areas.

To help the growth of the businesses, management will be concentrated in the Business General Direction led by Nemesio Fernandez-Cuesta as Chief Operating Officer.

To boost the active development of the company's strategy based on the anticipation of opportunities, business management and the growth of technology as a transformational engine, the company has created a General Direction for Strategy and Control, led by Pedro Fernandez Frial.

ˇThe new structure reinforces management by incorporating to the Executive Committee the new Executive Directors for Exploration and Production, (Luis Cabra), and Industrial and New Energy Unit (Josu Jon Imaz)     

Repsol's new Executive Committee is made up of:

• Antonio Brufau, Executive Chairman
• Luis Suárez de Lezo, General Counsel and Secretary of the Board of Directors 
• Nemesio Fernández-Cuesta, Executive Director Business Units (COO)
• Pedro Fernández Frial, Executive Director Control and Strategy 
• Miguel Martínez San Martín, Chief Financial Officer
• Cristina Sanz Mendiola, Executive Director People and Organisation 
• Begońa Elices, Executive Director Communication and Chairman's Office
• Luis Cabra, Executive Director Exploration and Production
• Josu Jon Imaz, Executive Director  Industrial and New Energy Unit 

Renewed corporate image

Repsol has transformed and revitalized its corporate image wit a twofold objective: Gaining visibility as well as reflecting the company's new vision.

This project, was carried out by Repsol employees as well as external public, providers, image experts, investors, journalists and opinion leaders and is the result of a rigorous process which began in 2011 

The rollout of the new image, which begins today with the presentation of the strategic plan, will be completed in the coming months not only in group communications but also at service stations, products and services and all areas inside and outside Spain. 

The new company headquarters built to the most stringent sustainability criteria is one of the first examples of the application of the new brand.

This document does not constitute an offer or invitation to purchase or subscribe shares, in accordance with the provisions of the Spanish Securities Market Law (Law 24/1988, of July 28, as amended and restated) and its implementing regulations. In addition, this document does not constitute an offer of purchase, sale or exchange, nor a request for an offer of purchase, sale or exchange of securities in any other jurisdiction. This document contains statements that Repsol believes constitute forward-looking statements which may include statements regarding the intent, belief, or current expectations of Repsol and its management, including statements with respect to trends affecting Repsol's financial condition, financial ratios, results of operations, business, strategy, geographic concentration, production volume and reserves, capital expenditures, costs savings, investments and dividend payout policies. These forward-looking statements may also include assumptions regarding future economic and other conditions, such as future crude oil and other prices, refining and marketing margins and exchange rates and are generally identified by the words "expects", "anticipates", "forecasts", "believes", estimates", "notices" and similar expressions. These statements are not guarantees of future performance, prices, margins, exchange rates or other events and are subject to material risks, uncertainties, changes and other factors which may be beyond Repsol's control or may be difficult to predict. Within those risks are those factors and circumstances described in the filings made by Repsol and its affiliates with the Comisión Nacional del Mercado de Valores in Spain, the Comisión Nacional de Valores in Argentina, the Securities and Exchange Commission in the United States and with any other supervisory authority of those markets where the securities issued by Repsol and/or its affiliates are listed. Repsol does not undertake to publicly update or revise these forward-looking statements even if experience or future changes make it clear that the projected performance, conditions or events expressed or implied therein will not be realized. The information contained in the document has not been verified or revised by the Auditors of Repsol.