You probably don't think about it when you're clicking the nozzle at the gas station. Most people don't. But there is a massive, invisible web of steel pipes and high-tech storage tanks spanning thousands of miles that makes that click possible. For decades, if you lived in Spain, that web was synonymous with the Compañía Logística de Hidrocarburos, or CLH.
Things changed recently. They rebranded to Exolum.
Why? Because the world is getting weird about oil. The company realized that "Hydrocarbons" in your name is a bit like having "Typewriter" in your brand in 1995. It’s accurate, sure, but it feels like the past. However, changing a name doesn’t change the reality that this company is the literal backbone of energy distribution in Southern Europe and, increasingly, the UK and Panama.
The Monopolistic Roots of Compañía Logística de Hidrocarburos
To understand where they are going, you have to look at the CAMPSA days. Remember CAMPSA? It was the state-run monopoly in Spain. In 1992, when the European Union started poking its nose into national monopolies, CAMPSA was split up. The gas stations went to the big oil producers like Repsol, Cepsa, and BP. But the pipes? The "midstream" stuff? That stayed together.
That became the Compañía Logística de Hidrocarburos.
It was a weird setup. The very people who needed the pipes to move their gas (Repsol and friends) were also the owners of the pipes. If you were a new player trying to sell gas in Spain, you had to ask your competitors for permission to use the infrastructure. Talk about a conflict of interest. Eventually, the Spanish government had to step in and cap how much any one oil company could own.
Today, it's mostly owned by massive international investment funds like CVC Capital Partners, OMERS (the Ontario Municipal Employees Retirement System), and Macquarie. These are the "smart money" folks who love "boring" infrastructure because it generates cash like a printing press.
How the Network Actually Functions (It’s Not Just Pipes)
Think of it as a giant circulatory system.
They have over 4,000 kilometers of pipelines in Spain alone. That’s enough to go from Madrid to Moscow. These pipes connect coastal refineries and import terminals to inland storage facilities located near major cities.
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But here is the kicker: the pipes aren't just for one type of fuel.
They use something called "batching." They might send a massive slug of 95-octane gasoline down the pipe, followed immediately by a slug of diesel. They don't put a physical barrier between them. They just manage the pressure and speed so perfectly that they barely mix. At the receiving end, they divert the "interface" (the mixed bit) into a separate tank for reprocessing. It’s incredibly efficient.
Honestly, the logistics are a nightmare that they make look easy. They manage over 8 million cubic meters of storage capacity. If you've ever seen those giant white cylinders near an airport or a harbor, there’s a high probability you’re looking at an Exolum (formerly Compañía Logística de Hidrocarburos) facility.
The Airport Connection
If you've flown out of Madrid-Barajas or Barcelona-El Prat, you’ve used their services. They are the primary providers of aviation fuel at most Spanish airports.
They don't just store the fuel; they manage the "hydrant" systems under the tarmac. Instead of trucks driving around with thousands of gallons of explosive liquid, the fuel is pumped through underground pipes directly to the gate. A small "dispenser" vehicle connects the plane to the hole in the ground. It’s faster, safer, and way less chaotic.
Why the Rebrand to Exolum Matters
The shift from Compañía Logística de Hidrocarburos to Exolum in 2021 wasn't just a marketing guy's fever dream. It was a survival tactic.
The "H" in CLH stood for hydrocarbons. In a world obsessed with ESG (Environmental, Social, and Governance) scores and Net Zero targets, "Hydrocarbons" is a dirty word. Investors were getting twitchy. By rebranding, they signaled a pivot toward "green" molecules.
What does that actually mean?
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- Green Hydrogen: They are experimenting with using their existing corridors to move hydrogen.
- Biofuels: More and more of what they move is HVO (Hydrotreated Vegetable Oil) or SAF (Sustainable Aviation Fuel).
- Circular Economy: They are looking into storing and transporting chemical products that aren't fuels at all.
It’s a massive gamble. Moving hydrogen in pipes designed for oil isn't a "plug and play" situation. Hydrogen is tiny. It leaks through seals that keep oil in just fine. It can also make steel brittle. They are spending millions on R&D to see if they can repurpose their 3,000-mile network without the whole thing falling apart.
The UK Expansion: Interpipe and Beyond
Most people don’t realize that the old Compañía Logística de Hidrocarburos is now one of the biggest players in the UK.
In 2015, they bought the Government Pipeline and Storage System (GPSS) in Britain. It’s now called Exolum Pipeline System Ltd. It was originally built during World War II to keep fuel moving even if the Nazis bombed the ports.
It’s a rugged, sprawling system that services major military bases and commercial airports like Heathrow and Gatwick. By taking over this system, they proved they could export their "Spanish model" of efficient, third-party logistics to other countries. They’ve since expanded into Panama, France, and the Netherlands. They aren't just a Spanish utility anymore; they are a global logistics titan.
What People Get Wrong About Fuel Prices
You’ll often hear people complain that gas prices are high because of "the middleman."
In Spain, the middleman is essentially Exolum. But here’s the reality: their costs are highly regulated. The Spanish government (through the CNMC) keeps a very close eye on what they can charge.
Actually, having a single, massive, centralized network like the one built by the Compañía Logística de Hidrocarburos usually makes fuel cheaper at the pump. If every oil company had to build its own private pipeline from the coast to Madrid, the redundancy would be insanely expensive. By sharing the "highway," they lower the per-liter cost of transport to a few cents.
The real drivers of your gas bill are crude oil prices, refining margins, and—most importantly—taxes. The logistics part is surprisingly small.
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Is the Future "Green" or Just "Greenwashed"?
Critics argue that a company built on oil can't ever be truly green. It’s a fair point.
However, if we want to stop using fossil fuels, we still need a way to move the alternatives. If you want to power a plane with used cooking oil (SAF), you still need a tank to hold it and a pipe to get it to the wing. Exolum is betting that even if the stuff inside the pipes changes, the pipes themselves will always be necessary.
They are currently building a green hydrogen plant in Madrid (the "Win4H2" project) to fuel heavy-duty vehicles. It’s a pilot, a drop in the bucket compared to their oil business, but it shows they are reading the room.
Actionable Insights for Energy Observers
If you are looking at the energy sector, specifically companies like the former Compañía Logística de Hidrocarburos, keep these factors in mind for the next 24 months:
Watch the "Common Carrier" Regulations: In the UK and Europe, there is a push to force pipeline owners to carry hydrogen for third parties. How Exolum handles these "open access" rules will dictate their profit margins.
The Aviation Pivot: Since ground transport is going electric, Exolum’s biggest "moat" is now aviation. Watch their contracts with IAG (British Airways/Iberia). If SAF mandates increase, Exolum becomes more valuable because they own the only infrastructure capable of blending and delivering those fuels at scale.
Decommissioning Liabilities: One thing no one talks about is what happens to 4,000km of pipe if it can't be used for hydrogen. The cost of digging that up or safely abandoning it is astronomical. Check their balance sheets for "provisions for decommissioning."
The transition from a fossil fuel giant to a "liquid logistics" company is the biggest corporate pivot in Spanish history. Whether they pull it off depends on physics—specifically, whether those old steel pipes can handle the fuels of the future without leaking.
To understand the energy transition, stop looking at the solar panels on roofs and start looking at the white tanks on the outskirts of town. That’s where the real battle is being fought.