SANTA CRUZ DE TENERIFE, 23 May. (EUROPE PRESS) –
Cepsa officially began this Monday the dismantling of the Tenerife Refinery, the first Spanish refinery built in Santa Cruz de Tenerife in 1930, a process through which the urban regeneration of a space that occupies some 500,000 square meters begins.
The event was attended by the Third Vice President and Minister of Ecological Transition, Teresa Ribera; the president of the Canary Islands, Ángel Víctor Torres; the president of the Cabildo de Tenerife, Pedro Martín; the mayor of Santa Cruz de Tenerife, José Manuel Bermúdez, and the CEO of Cepsa, Maarten Wetselaar.
The minister highlighted in her speech the “symbolic” meaning of this day and the difficulty involved in organizing and dismantling an industrial facility of these characteristics, which implies carrying out “complex processes” but also with “maximum security”.
Teresa Ribera also highlighted that the beginning of the dismantling is a “historic, emotional and symbolic” fact that represents a “further step” towards the recovery of this space for the city of Santa Cruz and towards that process of transformation of the Spanish energy system.
He also stressed that while the dismantling of the plant progresses, work will be done at the same time on the new fuel warehouses, so that the demand of the Islands can be met, and Cepsa and the Government will continue to invest for the energy transformation.
The Minister of Ecological Transition also pointed out that this act marks the way for other refineries and large industrial plants that have been incorporated into the urban fabric in other parts of the country, which makes the Tenerife Refinery a “pioneering project” that “It’s ahead of what’s already a trend everywhere.”
For his part, the president of the Canary Islands, Ángel Víctor Torres, affirmed that the dismantling of the Refinery is an “extremely aspirational” act, the result of “hard work” that has given rise to a “changeable fact” that means that the future of oil is clean energy.
Ángel Víctor Torres underlined that today’s event is, without a doubt, one of the “most important” events to be held in the next five years or decades, since a piece of land is being delivered to the city of Santa Cruz, which is going to become in a “clean and exemplary” space with the participation of all.
The president of the Cabildo de Tenerife, Pedro Martín, also agreed that today is an important day not only for the capital, but for the island; a “long-awaited” fact that will allow this industrial activity to move to the port of Granadilla and leave a space “for the Santa Cruz of the 21st century.”
The mayor, José Manuel Bermúdez, stressed that today is a “historic” day for Santa Cruz that “opens a door” to the future of the city. Likewise, he highlighted the fact that almost a hundred years ago Cepsa opted for Santa Cruz and that thousands of families have seen their lives improve thanks to the Refinery.
He also stressed that we are at the beginning of the most important urban transformation that is going to take place in Spain and, perhaps, in Europe. For this reason, he emphasized that this project must be an “example” for the world and lead to the construction of a sustainable city, “a challenge that we must face collectively.”
Finally, the CEO of Cepsa, Maarten Wetselaar, recognized that the dismantling of the Refinery is a “transcendental” event for the Canary Islands and for the history of the company, which with today’s act wants to symbolize its commitment to the Islands. He also added that this process will serve to promote the energy transition of the Canary Islands and to return this space to the people of Tenerife. He also wanted to transfer his recognition and admiration to the workers of the plant, who are the ones who have been keeping the Refinery “alive”.
DISMANTLING BY PHASES.
After the authorization of the works at the end of last January, the first phase of action includes the decontamination of the soil and the dismantling of non-operational units. The next one will focus on the environment where the crude oil storage tanks are located.
The commissioning of a new storage park in the port of Granadilla, for which Cepsa already has an administrative concession and which is expected to become a reality in 2025, together with greater use of other facilities that the company already has company on the Island, will allow the start of the works of the second phase, which will entail the uninstallation of the remaining refinery equipment.
The dismantling of the Refinery is part of the agreement between the City Council of Santa Cruz de Tenerife and Cepsa called Santa Cruz Verde 2030, through which the urban regeneration of a space that occupies some 500,000 square meters will begin.
Despite the dismantling of the Tenerife Refinery, whose work will be fully funded by the energy company, Cepsa still has two other facilities of this type on the Peninsula: one in Huelva and the other in Gibraltar San Roque.
