Biodiversity protection

In July 2022, we released five Bonelli's eagles in Huesca under the supervision of the Department of Agriculture, Livestock, and Environment of Aragon, and the technical support of the association GREFA (Grupo de Rehabilitación de la Fauna Autóctona y su Hábitat).

This operation has succeeded in returning several specimens of this bird to their natural habitat, catalogued as "endangered" and whose population had fallen by 35% in the last 15 years, currently amounting to 20 pairs. This project also includes close collaboration with local authorities, talks to raise public awareness, and the release of up to twenty more birds.

In 2022, we restored three hectares of coral reefs in the Veracruz Reef System National Park, considered one of the jewels of the Gulf of Mexico in terms of biodiversity. This program is carried out together with the National Commission of Natural Protected Areas (CONANP) and the company Oceanus A.C.

In addition to promoting the ecotourism sector in the area, one of its goals is to increase the number of healthy and genetically diverse coral colonies by 15,000 by installing nurseries, stabilizing fragments, and transplanting colonies. This will allow the rehabilitation of their structure and ecological functions, including the introduction of other species and organisms. All of this will be complemented with education and outreach activities.

Our operations in the Caipipendi area (Bolivia) incorporate biodiversity criteria in all phases of the asset's life.

We have conducted an environmental impact study, sensitivity mapping, and historical monitoring of the area with satellite imagery to identify our impacts and mitigate them.

We built artificial canopy bridges in the area of influence of Block 16 (Ecuador) that link the canopies of the giant trees in the area, creating biotic corridors that facilitate the mobility of species in the forest of the Yasuní National Park. We identify, evaluate, and recover deforested areas to minimize this risk and structure restoration. 

In addition, we have been monitoring the environmental characteristics of the area of influence of our operations for more than 25 years.

We have conducted a natural capital analysis in Block 57 (Peru) to understand and assess both the impacts and the biodiversity management measures implemented. We have used our Natural Capital Reads valuation methodology to perform this analysis.

We carry out annual campaigns to monitor the ecological status/potential of reservoirs and rivers downstream of hydropower plants. The aim is to monitor to avoid impacts on these ecosystems directly related to our hydropower production activity.

We participate in the LIFE DIVAQUA project. Its main objective is the restoration of the aquatic ecosystems of the Natura 2000 Network in the Picos de Europa National Park (northern Spain) and its surroundings to improve the conservation status of aquatic habitats and species of Community interest.

We carry out biodiversity management actions on the properties we own around the Gaia reservoir, which supplies water to our Tarragona Industrial Complex. These measures include building stone piles to preserve the Bonelli's eagle and eagle owl populations, the installation of nesting boxes to maintain and increase the populations of insectivorous birds, rollers, and bats, and the recovery of carob tree fields. 

For years, we have been implementing an ecological beaconing project with biotopes on the Tarragona coast in order to attract marine flora and fauna and form small reefs.

Since the start of the project in 2012, 135 biotopes have been distributed on the beaches of 6 coastal towns. 

In 2020, this initiative was chosen as an example of best practice according to SDG 14: "Conserve and sustainably use oceans, seas, and marine resources” during the Spanish Global Compact Network's Oceans Week. 

We have integrated our Campus in Madrid into the LIFE Boosting Urban Green Infrastructure through Biodiversity-Oriented Design of Business Premises project, which promotes the design and management of business and industrial premises while taking biodiversity and nature into account.

We have developed a predictive model of underwater acoustic propagation based on actual values from Passive Acoustic Monitoring (PAM) measurement equipment. The model makes it possible to predict noise values on offshore production platforms regardless of the salinity of the water and the depth of the environment, which facilitates risk management for marine life in order to minimize the impact of our operations. With this advance, Repsol strengthens its commitment to biodiversity management in the marine environment for offshore hydrocarbon production activities, complementing it with compliance with the guidelines of the Joint Nature Conservation Committee (JNCC) in all its offshore geophysical seismic operations.

By assessing the ecosystems' genetic footprint, biodiversity data was collected from water, soil, and sediment samples at our Block 57 asset located in a rainforest area of Peru in a non-invasive way for the current living organisms. Also, the simplicity of the sampling method bolsters our commitment to the local communities and significantly reduces our carbon footprint due to less specialized field staff required, less waste generation, and lower use of natural resources, among others.