It is the largest refinery in the Iberian Peninsula, with a crude oil daily processing capacity of 240,000 barrels per day.

The results of local air samples by both the Gibraltar and Spanish NGOs and environmental groups are regularly reported to the relevant European Union institutions.

On May 27, 1985, a Japanese ship called Petragen One docked in the refinery and was unloading 20,000 tons of naphtha, which exploded and also caused the Spanish tanker Camponavia to catch fire.

The fire started explosions in the Camponavia, which broke in two and sank in a slick of burning oil.

[2] On January 21, 2003, the barge of CEPSA Spabunker IV, used to supply fuel to ships crossing the Strait of Gibraltar, sank during a storm on the way from the dock to seek refuge in the port of Algeciras, just a few miles away.