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Water management

Water is an essential resource for life, and we are therefore committed to using it efficiently, preventing risks, and minimizing impacts. As such, we sustainably manage water with the aim of seeking out new solutions at the operational level to minimize consumption, use it responsibly, and preserve the quality of the receiving bodies.

Endorsing the CEO Water Mandate

We bolstered our commitment to address global water challenges by joining the CEO Water Mandate. This is an initiative led by the United Nations Global Compact in collaboration with the Pacific Institute concerning water, sanitation, and the Sustainable Development Goals.

Thus, we are showing our corporate effort and responsibility towards progress and continuous improvement in these six core areas of water stewardship:

Direct operations
Supply chain and watershed management
Collective action
Public policy
Community engagement
Transparency

Repsol Water Tool: Our risk analysis tool

We use the Repsol Water Tool (RWT) to assess the risks associated with water. This includes both internal risks (measurement quality, types of water use, treatment technologies, etc.) and external risks (availability, quality, and ecosystems that are withdrawal sources or discharge receiving bodies, future water availability, regulatory and business risks, etc.). This tool enables us to identify businesses and facilities where a greater management effort must be made and the needs for action that are a priority.

Main lines of action

The roadmap for sustainable water management to 2025 unfolds in concrete actions. These are the four lines of action:

External reuse

We encourage the use of alternative sources of water that do not come directly from the environment.

Efficient use

We work to reduce and optimize water consumption across our range of activities.

Internal reuse

We use the latest technologies that allow us to obtain high quality treated water for reuse in our operations.

Reduced impact of discharges

We comply with increasingly demanding external requirements and internal standards, with the aim of reducing the impact on the natural environment.

A collaborative approach

Water management should follow an approach that builds joint relationships between stakeholders and regulators for more effective management strategies that prevent risks and mitigate impacts.

Maintaining channels for dialogue with our stakeholders

At Repsol, we open channels of communication between society and the Company, such as the Public Advisory Panel for the different industrial complexes, through which the concerns of local residents about safety, health, and the environment, including water, can be heard and conveyed.

Success stories

Reusing water from alternative sources

At the Tarragona Industrial Complex, we use regenerated water from the municipal wastewater treatment plant (WWTP), which reduces the amount of water withdrawn from the environment. Under normal operating conditions, more than 10% of the total flow of water withdrawn comes from the municipal WWTP.

Efficiency improvement

The water use efficiency at the Cartagena Refinery makes us a European leader in the sector, with a water consumption ratio 26% lower than the average for other refineries.

Such great results, which are based on data from the European organization of oil companies for the protection of the environment and health (Concawe), have been achieved thanks to the implementation of specific measures included in the water plan of the industrial complex.

Internal water reuse

We have implemented a technological solution for water treatment through clarification with micro-sand filters. In this way, we managed to increase the water recirculation ratio of the refinery itself and minimize the collection and dependence on water from the environment. We also managed to improve the quality of the water discharged into the Ojailén river.

Reducing the impact of discharges

We built a new water treatment plant at our Margarita gas production field in order to be able to have the technology to treat the water and achieve the quality specifications for the injection process in the event of a sudden increase in the volumes of formation water produced.

Sustainable water management

We are committed to a responsible and sustainable water management strategy that includes:

Risk analysis before choosing the location of gas wells to protect groundwater resources before, during, and after drilling
Recycling of produced water for reuse in the development of new wells
Safe water storage
Encouraging the transport of water by pipelines instead of trucks

We establish an ongoing dialogue with communities, landowners, and regulators to address concerns and share our water management plans.

Blue certificate in Block 57

Acknowledgement awarded by the National Water Authority (ANA), which has been obtained thanks to the measurement, reporting, and reduction of the water footprint and the development of a shared value project with the communities. Thanks to this project, the ecological and participatory restoration of exploratory platforms was carried out, which managed to recover the ecological integrity of the forest, essential for the conservation of local water resources.

Development of a hydrogeological study in Bolivia

As an example of a detailed study of the water supply sources in the areas where we operate, the Hydrogeological Analysis of the Margarita-Huacaya Field was conducted. This study assessed the underground water resources in the area including their availability and evolution, while analyzing fluctuation and weather dependency and checking the sustainability of the system.

The results allowed us to see how the aquifers in the area worked, control the available resources, assess the impact of extractions on underground water, and optimize the distribution of the sources in an environmentally sustainable way.