About us

CORES is a non-profit public corporation under the aegis of the Ministry for the Ecological Transition and the Demographic Challenge. It is a separate legal entity, operating under private law. Its framework for action derives from Law 34/1998 on the hydrocarbons sector and Royal Decree 1716/2004. In December 2013, CORES was appointed Central Stockholding Entity as defined in Directive 2009/119/EC. In its governing bodies both the Administration and the oil and natural gas sector are represented.

CORES contributes to ensuring the security of the hydrocarbon supply in Spain through stockholding of petroleum products and control of the stocks held by the industry with regard to petroleum products, liquefied petroleum gases (LPG) and natural gas. Moreover, it has been a statistical agent in the hydrocarbon sector in Spain since its creation in 1995.  

CORES' functions were extended in May 2022 to include biofuels control. 

Additionally, CORES helps guarantee suitable diversification of natural gas supplies in Spain, controlling to ensure that supply origins do not exceed the legal percentage set for any one country. 

In the event of an oil supply crisis, whether national or international, and under the supervision of the Ministry for the Ecological Transition and the Demographic Challenge, CORES would contribute to ensuring supply continuity, coordinating the flow of the petroleum product stock necessary to consumers. 

Spain, like all the other countries belonging to the European Union, has signed commitments to maintain petroleum product security stocks, as well as participating in collective actions in the event of a supply crisis, as both a member of the International Energy Agency and a member of the European Union.

In Europe the creation of stockholding entities such as CORES, dedicated to the storage and management of strategic reserves, has been the model most frequently used to fulfil the international obligations regarding stockholding on a national level. In fact, Directive 2009/119/EC promotes the existence of this type of organisation as the most efficient system for maintaining and managing stocks from an operational, financial and security of supply standpoint.