Refineria La Pampilla S.A.A.

What it is

La Pampilla refines, stores, markets, transports and distributes all types of hydrocarbons — crude oil and its derivatives. Its refinery in Ventanilla, Callao, can process up to 117,000 barrels of oil a day, which is roughly half of Peru’s total refining capacity.

The plant itself was inaugurated in 1967, and in 1996 it passed to Repsol for around US$180 million as part of Peru’s privatisation programme under President Alberto Fujimori. The listed company, Refinería La Pampilla S.A.A., was formally incorporated in November 1994 and began operations on 1 August 1996.

Its product range spans LPG, gasoline, petrol, gasohol, diesel, industrial oil, asphalt cement and liquid asphalt. Through its retail subsidiary RECOSAC, the group also operates 503 fuel stations across Peru.

Who owns it

La Pampilla is a subsidiary of Repsol Perú B.V., a Dutch holding company, which is itself owned by Spain’s Repsol S.A.; as of 31 December 2024, Repsol Perú B.V. holds 99.20% of all issued shares.

That leaves a free float of only about 0.80% — meaning the stock is listed in Lima almost purely for regulatory and transparency purposes, not as a vehicle for public ownership.

Repsol acquired the refinery for around US$180 million in 1996; a major modernisation programme, estimated at US$740 million, began in 2014. The Spanish parent has no disclosed plans to reduce its near-total grip on the Peruvian operation.

Who runs it

The Board Chair (Presidente del Directorio) of Refinería La Pampilla S.A.A. is also the Director Ejecutivo of Repsol Perú, a position he has held since January 2019.

The group’s CFO in Peru joined Repsol in 2009, holding roles including Finance Manager, CFO and Commercial Director, and currently serves as Chief Financial Officer of Repsol’s Peruvian entities.

The board includes two independent directors — Elena Aida Conterno Martinelli and María Caridad de la Puente Wiese — who have no ties to Repsol or its management. Full individual names of the current Chair and CEO were not confirmed in final form in available primary sources at time of writing; the company’s board page at repsol.pe carries current biographies.

The money, in plain words

In 2024, the company took in US$4,069 million in sales — a 9% fall from 2023, driven mainly by lower global oil-product prices. After everything, it kept US$77.7 million as profit, down 42% from US$134.7 million the year before.

That means it keeps roughly 1.9 cents of profit from every dollar of sales — a net margin of 1.9% (our calculation), thin even by refining standards, where razor-edge margins are the norm.

On the balance sheet, financial debt fell by US$180 million in 2024, as the company needed less working capital and collected more of what the government owed it through the fuel-price stabilisation fund. Capital spending rose 34% to US$87.5 million in 2024, suggesting the company is investing through a weak year rather than retrenching.

Through the end of 2024, La Pampilla had spent a cumulative US$311.4 million responding to the 2022 oil spill at its Terminal Multiboyas No. 2 in Ventanilla — a sum that has weighed heavily on reported earnings every year since the incident.

What it is doing now

The biggest single investment in 2024 was US$22.3 million into a “revamping” project to increase production of low-sulphur gasoline — cleaner fuel that meets stricter environmental rules. At the same time, in June 2025, La Pampilla formally asked to leave Peru’s fuel price stabilisation fund (FEPC) — the government mechanism that had cushioned consumers from global oil price swings but left the company carrying large, slow-to-collect government receivables.

Also in June 2025, the company took over the supply of aviation fuel at Peru’s new Jorge Chávez international airport, adding a new high-volume commercial channel to its existing refinery and retail network. Meanwhile, a class-action lawsuit filed in the Netherlands on behalf of roughly 35,000 alleged victims of the 2022 spill remains active, with a court ruling on jurisdiction expected in mid-2025.

What to watch

• Oil-price sensitivity: With a net margin under 2%, a small drop in the spread between crude costs and refined-product prices can flip profit to loss. Watch global refining margins quarterly.
• Spill liability: The cumulative spend of US$311 million is not the ceiling — a Dutch court case names Repsol Perú B.V., Refinería La Pampilla and Repsol S.A. as defendants in claims totalling £1 billion on behalf of around 35,000 alleged victims. Any ruling on jurisdiction is a market-moving event.
• FEPC exit: Leaving the fuel price fund means the company no longer accrues government receivables — but also loses a pricing buffer. The effect on cash flow will appear from the second half of 2025 onward.
• Free float: With 99.2% in Repsol’s hands, the public shares are almost entirely illiquid. The stock price reflects sentiment and technical trading more than fundamental value.

This is news, not investment advice.