Boosted By Rising Oil Prices, Repsol Hits Accelerator

Spain’s Repsol plans to increase investment and production and lift its dividend by 2020 after years of cost cuts, the oil and gas company said June 6, as a rebound in global oil prices boosted its profits.

The company will spend 15 billion euros (US $17.6 billion) across units including exploration, production, refining and commercial over the next two years, Repsol said in its 2018-2020 strategy plan.

Repsol had focused on cost and debt reduction since paying a hefty premium to buy Canadian producer Talisman for $8.3 billion in 2015, just as a plummeting oil price forced companies across the sector to tighten their belts. The company now forecasts production will rise to 750,000 barrels per day in 2020, from 727,000 a day in first-quarter 2018.