MADRID (Reuters) - Spanish oil major Repsol (MC:REP) said on Wednesday it expects to increase production to 750,000 barrels per day in 2020, and raise its dividend to 1 euro ($1.2) per share over the next two years.
Repsol also said it planned capital expenditure of 15 billion euros from 2018 to 2020 in an update to its strategic plan for the period.
After a long process of cleaning up its balance sheet, Europe's fifth-largest refiner is looking to diversify its activities towards renewable energy and developing its gas business.
It has focused on cost and debt reduction in recent years after paying a hefty premium to buy Canadian producer Talisman in 2015, just as the oil price was plummeting. A rebound in the oil price is now boosting profit despite squeezing refining margins.
Repsol said it now plans to invest 2.5 billion euros (2.19 billion pounds) in low-emissions businesses, as the global energy sector faces a transition to low-carbon energy. It will plough a further 1.5 billion euros into growing its downstream refining business, it said.
All the firm's new targets are based on an oil price of $50 a barrel, well below the roughly $76 at which Brent crude (LCOc1) is trading.
If the oil price stays above $50 a barrel, Repsol plans to speed up existing projects and buy back additional shares.
At the market open, Repsol shares led gains on the Ibex (IBEX), rising 2 percent.