Business / Published September 2, 2020

Copec celebrates 85 years serving Chile


In order to ensure fuel supply in the country, Compañía de Petróleos de Chile (Copec) began its operations in 1935. Five years later, its service stations network already spanned from Coquimbo to Magallanes.

A major milestone for the company took place in 1957 when Mobil granted Copec exclusive representation for Chile. That same year, the lubricant manufacturing plant was built in Las Salinas, Viña del Mar.

Seven years later, Copec would take an important step by being the co-founder of Sociedad de Inversiones de Aviación Ltda. (SIAV), which specializes in supplying fuel to airplanes at airports.

In 1965 Copec launched a new offer of complementary services, debuting with Rutacentros in the main highway service stations.

In the mid-1980s, the Angelini group took over Copec, giving way to a new phase of expansion in the company.

The classic slogan “First in Service” debuted in 1987 and identifies the brand to this day.

The first Pronto store opened in the town of Nos in 1990, giving birth what would become a nationwide network of convenience stores.

In 1996, through the signing of an agreement with Mobil Oil, Copec assumed total management of the manufacturing, distribution and sale of Mobil lubricants in Chile.

In 2003, Copec became the subsidiary in charge of the liquid fuels and lubricants business with the parent becoming a financial holding company, called Empresas Copec.

The subsidiary began its internationalization in 2010, when it became a holding company of Terpel, a leading Colombian fuel distributor in that market. Six years later, Copec acquired 100% of Mapco Express, which owns an extensive network of stations in the United States.

Motivated by a constant innovative spirit to deliver the best service experience to its customers, Copec launched Voltex in 2019, South America’s most extensive network of stations for electric vehicles. At the end of that year, Terpel took the same step in Colombia. Thus, the subsidiary has been a pioneer and leads a powerful electromobility strategy in both countries.

In a constantly evolving world, today Copec’s vision is to become a leading mobility company, offering solutions for all the new modes of transport and consumption of the new digital era.

Additionally, Copec has promoted new technologies and trends, with more disruptive innovations and building new businesses. Consequently, the Wind Copec platform was born in 2020, which has an Innovation Garage in Santiago and a Corporate Venture Capital in Silicon Valley, focused on three areas: mobility, energy and convenience.

Today, Copec has a network of 668 service stations in Chile, from Arica to Puerto Williams, the largest in the country. In the United States, Mapco operates 364 service stations and Terpel has 2,305.

In its 85-year history, Copec has obtained important awards highlighting its spirit of innovation and service. Thanks to the work and commitment of a solid team, it has established itself as one of the most beloved brands by Chileans and will continue to work firmly on its purpose of accompanying and facilitating the moving life of the people and the countries where it operates.