Repsol is in no rush to list upstream unit in US, CEO says

By Sergio Goncalves and Javi West Larrañaga

LISBON/MADRID, April 30 (Reuters) - Spain's Repsol REP.MC is in no rush to list its oil and gas production unit in the United States, Chief Executive Josu Jon Imaz said on Thursday, tempering expectations about an initial public offering or reverse merger in the near future.

Imaz had said late last year that the upstream unit was being prepared for a liquidity event in 2026, which could mean an IPO or a reverse merger with a company listed in the U.S.

He said on Thursday while the unit was technically ready "to go to the American market", there would likely be a better time as fundamentals in the upstream sector should improve further in the coming months.

"We are comfortable in the current situation and we are not going to jump into a liquidity event in the short term," he said when asked on a conference call about a potential IPO or its alternative for going public, a reverse merger.

Imaz was speaking after Spain's biggest refinery operator reported strong quarterly results.

Repsol and its partner in the upstream unit, U.S. private equity fund EIG, which has a stake of 25%, "are fully aligned on this view", Imaz added.

In 2022, Repsol sold the stake in a deal valuing the whole business at that time at $19 billion, including debt. The transaction contemplated a potential U.S. listing from 2026 onward, subject to market conditions.

The unit spans assets across several countries, including the United States — namely the Pikka oil project in Alaska, one of the group's key growth developments — as well as Brazil, Mexico, Libya and Venezuela.

Imaz said Repsol's upstream business was showing broad overall progress, citing developments in Venezuela "where production is increasing with the support of both the Venezuelan government and U.S. authorities", as well as advances in Alaska and Libya.