A refinery in Tenerife has long been a prominent feature on the outskirts of the capital, Santa Cruz, near the Recinto Ferial congress center, the César Manrique Maritime Park, the Palmetum, and the Adán Martín Auditorium.
Until recently, the refinery processed crude oil into a range of high-quality hydrocarbons, such as LPG, kerosene, diesel, and raw materials for the chemical industry. After 92 years of operation, the refinery disappeared from the capital, as can be read HERE.
Fuel for Ships
In 1929, a gentleman named Preckler arrived from Barcelona in Santa Cruz with the aim of addressing the demand for fuel for ships arriving at the port. In a meeting with Santa Cruz’s mayor, Santiago García Sanabria, and the chairman of the Harbor Works Council, Eloy Sansón, he presented the possibility of building an oil refinery in the capital on behalf of ‘Bethlehem Steel,’ to be located on the farmlands of Pepe Concha and Las Monjas, in the southern coastal area of the capital.
Pontoon
Facing competition from the inauguration of the refinery, on February 2, 1930, the English oil tanker Trophom from the Shell company arrived from Curaçao. This tanker was meant to serve as a pontoon for offshore supply and was first used on May 5, 1930, by the Spanish Navy cruiser Almirante Cervera. The next refueling would occur on September 21, carried out by the Plus Ultra of the Trasmediterránea company. The last load of fuel for the pontoon was delivered by the Norwegian tanker Storaas on January 29, 1931.
The Refinery
Construction of the refinery took eight months, and it was inaugurated on November 29, 1930. A few days prior, the first Royal Navy tanker, El Oleander, had arrived with 7,500 tons of Venezuelan crude oil on board. The second shipment, destined for Cepsa’s storage facilities, arrived on January 30, 1931, on the oil tanker Fontenac. The first cargo ship to fill the fuel tanks on Tenerife was the Hausten. Initially, the refining unit had a capacity of 5,000 barrels per day, equivalent to 250,000 tons per year. The produced oil products were intended for the Spanish mainland, the local island market, and for supplying ships in the harbor.
Crisis
The global economic crisis of the 1930s threatened to put an end to the newly installed industry, as manufacturing, storage, and transportation costs could not be independently covered. After a trial period, new investments were made, doubling capacity and achieving a greater variety of higher-quality products.
The Spanish Civil War again brought difficulties to the refinery, but thanks to its autonomy, refined oil products continued to be produced. Initially, activity was high, but the Second World War caused delays due to a lack of tankers to transport the raw material.
Graffiti
Since the refinery was embedded in a city area with significant tourist appeal, which was developed into a recreational area, it became necessary to continuously monitor gas emissions. As a result, the chimneys were equipped with sensors. At the same time, efforts were made to enhance the appearance of storage facilities by adding colorful images created by some Canarian graffiti artists.
The refinery in Tenerife produced liquefied petroleum gas (propane and butane), gasoline (513,000 tons/year), jet fuel or kerosene (541,791 tons/year), oil, and fuels for motor vehicles. Since 1964, the refinery has had its own loading dock in La Hondura to keep the dangers of loading flammable products outside the city limits. The pier is 118 meters long, capable of docking tankers up to 25,000 tons. Fuel loading could reach up to 1,250 tons per hour.
Ships
From this pontoon, petroleum products were transported to the various Canary Islands and to Ceuta and Melilla, two Spanish enclaves in North Africa.
The tankers performing this task included the Mencey, capable of carrying up to 6,000 tons of fuel, the Nivaria (5,000 tons of gas oil), the Herbania and Junonia with 1,000 tons of gasoline and asphalt respectively, and the Guanarteme, which transported propane and butane gas.
The End
This is news that environmental and ecological advocates will celebrate, as the mayor of Santa Cruz de Tenerife, José Manuel Bermúdez, together with Pedro Miró from CEPSA, has signed a historic agreement to completely transform the refinery site. This landmark cooperation agreement will convert the location into a large public-private expansion area based on environmental sustainability.
The program, known as ‘Santa Cruz Verde 2030,’ will develop an area of 573,000 square meters – equivalent to 80 football fields – of which 67% will be used for public purposes and 33% for commercial purposes. This project can be somewhat compared to the Palmetum, which was used as a landfill before 1996, where all waste was deposited.
Guy Devos © Photography
A refinery in Tenerife ©
More TRIVIA can be read [HERE].
Interested in Tenerife?
Subscribe to our newsletter and always stay informed about the news on Tenerife.
Enter your first name and a valid email address below. Then click on Subscribe.
