The company indicated that the central axis of the 2024-2028 business plan is to continue capitalizing on market conditions to reduce indebtedness, optimize operations, and advance in the energy transition.
A balance for the year 2023 and the review of the main objectives for 2024 were carried out by the directors of Empresa Nacional del Petróleo (Enap), on the occasion of its Ordinary Shareholders' Meeting.
The annual meeting, held at the headquarters in Santiago, was attended, on behalf of the Treasury, by the Ministers of Finance, Mario Marcel, and Energy, Diego Pardow.
In presenting the results obtained over the 2023 period, the company highlighted profits of US$566 million, a historical EBITDA of US$1,414 million, and a decrease in financial debt of US$602 million.
The company also addressed the advance of profits contributed by ENAP to the tax authorities in fiscal year 2023 for US$400 million and detailed the investments made to improve its environmental performance in the different units, while reiterating that the 2024 financial scenario for the industry is more adverse than in recent years.
Among the main milestones of 2023 was the start-up of the emission abatement system at the Aconcagua Refinery ─a technology called a Wet Gas Scrubber─ a system that has allowed the reduction of over 80% of particulate matter emissions and about 48% of the sulfur dioxide generated by the operation’s refining process.
Another of the events reported was the signing of agreements for the development of green hydrogen projects in Magallanes, the resumption of the Trans-Andean pipeline (OTA-OTC), and the placement of a bond for US$500 million in the international market.
On the occasion, the company reported the guidelines of the 2024-2028 Plan, which has as its central axis to continue capitalizing on market conditions to reduce indebtedness, optimize operations, and advance in the energy transition.
In this context, for this period, Enap considers flexibly maintaining an investment plan of US$3.5 billion (subject to financial performance), which allows addressing aspects such as integrity and performance of refinery and logistics assets, operational excellence, process safety, compliance with environmental commitments, and the development of new businesses.
In addition, Enap announced that it is working on a Decarbonization Plan with specific goals for 2035 and 2050, which it will soon announce.
The Minister of Finance, Mario Marcel, praised the company's results. "This is undoubtedly very satisfactory, reflecting not only a better price situation, but also good management of the company that is part of a policy agreed upon with the Ministry of Finance of reducing debt, reducing the financial burden, improving management, and developing sustainable investments, not only from an environmental point of view but also financially. We congratulate the board of directors and executives of the company and encourage them to continue on this path that shows that public companies, when they have the right incentives and the right management capacity, are also able to show positive results for the community and for the State, "he said.
The Minister of Energy, Diego Pardow, said at the end of the meeting that "today we had a very good day of work in which ENAP showed us the good figures of its operations during 2023, numbers that reinforce the work that the company has been doing in recent years. Enap is a responsible, serious, forward-looking company. Examples of this good management are the award of its first green hydrogen plant and the scaling up of the liquefied petroleum gas commercialization program, which shows positive figures."
The chairwoman of the Board of Directors of ENAP, Gloria Maldonado, highlighted the recent award for the construction of the state's first green hydrogen generation plant and emphasized the relevance of the series of agreements signed by ENAP with private companies for the qualification of infrastructure to develop the industry of this fuel of the future.
"Each of these initiatives is in line with the objective we have assumed at ENAP: to be an articulator to accelerate the energy transition in our country, developing lower-emission fuels, improving our standards, and being enablers of clean and renewable options," said the Chairwoman of the Board.
Meanwhile, the CEO, Julio Friedmann, said that "in the last 18 months, we have reduced ENAP's debt by more than US$1 billion. Today, we are focused on improving our financial situation, following the path of debt reduction, and achieving a relevant production increase. For this, we have a responsible investment plan, prioritizing initiatives that allow us to safeguard the company's sustainability, good results, and business for the coming decades, ensuring operational safety and reducing environmental impacts."