Portuguese energy firm Galp will focus on growing its upstream business from oilfields in Brazil and Namibia and may list parts of its newly formed downstream business in a couple of years, its co-chief executive Joao Diogo Marques da Silva told Reuters on Tuesday.
The company said earlier this month it was in talks with private equity-backed Moeve to combine their businesses in two new entities - one focusing on retail and another on refining.
Galp's upstream oil and gas production business, which includes stakes in closely watched, undeveloped oil fields offshore Namibia, would not be included in the merger.
The deal, if successful, would create two new companies and result in the formation of one of Europe's biggest refiners.
The merger announcement led to analyst speculation that Galp might look to sell its upstream business.
Marques da Silva said Galp is focusing on growing the upstream business rather than being an acquisition target as production will grow 10 per cent in 2026 in Brazil alone.
"We have a unique story in upstream. We've built growth, a unique story with a very strong asset base," he said in an interview at the World Economic Forum meeting in Davos. "We are looking for additional value creation options."
Galp may return to Angola as opportunities open up, he added.
The energy firm will also assess a public listing of its merger with Moeve after at least two years, Marques da Silva said, adding they are expecting a final agreement on the merger in mid-2026, when valuations would become clearer.
Galp would control 50 per cent of the retail venture with Moeve and around 20 per cent of refining.
Galp will need clarity on regulatory issues related to the retail business and will need to consolidate the refining and industrial business and complete investments before discussing a listing, he said.
The agreement between Galp and Spain's Moeve, whose shareholders are the United Arab Emirates' state-owned investment company Mubadala and US investment firm Carlyle Group, is non-binding.
One of the new entities would run 3,500 retail fuel stations mainly in Spain and Portugal, selling more than 6.5 million tonnes of refined products annually.
The other would operate Moeve's Huelva and Algeciras oil refineries and Galp's Sines refinery. The three facilities have combined capacity of around 700,000 barrels per day.
(Reporting by Dmitry Zhdannikov, Writing by Stephanie Kelly, Editing by Louise Heavens and Susan Fenton)
