HISTORY


Petróleos del Norte was founded on November 30, 1968, with the goal of refining and trading petroleum products and derivatives. A location near the Port of Bilbao was chosen to facilitate the supply and export of petroleum products, and in 1969 work began on the refinery in the Muskiz municipality.
Petronor was born from an agreement between the main Basque financial institutions, Vizcaya Bank (Banco de Vizcaya), Bilbao Bank (Banco de Bilbao), Vizcaína Savings Bank (Caja de Ahorros Vizcaína) and Municipal Savings Bank of Bilbao (Caja de Ahorros Municipal de Bilbao), with the support as industrial partner of the company Gulf, the refinery started up in 1972, with a 220 hectares in total and a crude oil distillation capacity of 60,000 barrels per day.
Petronor was founded with the purpose of producing fuel oil to fundamentally feed the thermal power stations, and to produce electricity; int this way responded to the demand of society for greater electricity consumption.
Petronor, together with the refinery, built the Punta Lucero dock with which developed the outer harbor. The goal was to increase the draft of the inner harbor to 31 meters to allow access to large oil tankers. But this objective was accompanied by the creation of an industrial zone with access to the water sheet, which first allowed maritime activity to move away from the city center and its regeneration, and then to develop new industries. Nowadays, the maritime traffic generated by Petronor’s activity accounts for 40% of the total activity of the Bilbao Port.
During the 1970s and the 1980s, Petronor focused on consolidating its operations and increasing its production capacity, expanding its distillation capacity to 220,000 barrels a day. This expansion included the construction of new plants and the incorporation of advanced technologies and innovative projects, all with the aim of improving energy efficiency and lowering the company’s environmental impact. These investments led to a gradual reduction in fuel oil production and an increase in the production of fuels for mobility.
Years later, Repsol acquired 86% of the company shares, allowing Petronor to benefit from the company’s synergies and strengthen its position in the market.
In 2020, the company launched its 2020-2025 Strategic Plan, which includes ambitious targets in sustainability and energy transition. Among the outstanding projects is the construction of a green hydrogen production plant in the Basque Country, in collaboration with Repsol and other entities.