27-03-2025

Eni and Saipem extend collaboration agreement in biorefining

Eni and Saipem extended the collaboration agreement signed between the two companies in November 2023 to combine their respective skills and specialisations in the industrial field for new projects of Eni’s interest.

The agreement concerns, in particular, the construction of new biorefineries, the conversion of traditional refineries into biorefineries and, generally, the development of new initiatives by Eni in the field of industrial transformation.

Through this agreement, Eni, in line with its goal of decarbonizing processes and products, intends to further develop its biorefining capacity through the development of new initiatives to produce biofuels both for aviation (SAF, Sustainable Aviation Fuel) and for land and sea mobility (HVO, Hydrotreated Vegetable Oil). At the same time, Saipem further strengthens its distinctive expertise in biorefining and decarbonization.

In line with the agreement, Eni has recently awarded Saipem a contract for the start-up of detailed engineering, procurement services and the purchase of critical equipment for the upgrading of the Enilive biorefinery in Porto Marghera, next to Venice. The project provides for the increase in the capacity of the plant, from the current 400 thousand tons/year to 600 thousand and, starting from 2027, also the production of sustainable aviation biofuel (SAF).

Also, as part of the agreement, Eni awarded Saipem, in November 2024, a contract for the conversion of the Livorno refinery into a biorefinery with a capacity of 500 thousand tons of biogenic charge: the project involves the application of Ecofining™ technology, developed by Eni and Honeywell UOP, for the production of HVO hydrogenated biofuels. The Livorno plant will be built in such a way as to allow, with appropriate technical modifications, a possible subsequent upgrading to produce SAF.

For both the Livorno and Venice projects, Saipem also carried out all the engineering activities preparatory to the executive phase, such as Feasibility Studies and Front-End Engineering Design. The total value of both contracts is currently approximately €320 million.

Eni, through its subsidiary Enilive, currently has a production capacity in the biorefining sector of 1.65 million tons/year and the goal is to increase it to over 5 million by 2030.

Eni was the first company in the world to convert two traditional refineries, in Venice Porto Marghera and Gela, into biorefineries for the processing of waste raw materials, such as used cooking oils, animal fats, residues from the agri-food industry and vegetable oils. Saipem, as an engineering, procurement service and construction management contractor, has already executed the project for the conversion of the Venice biorefinery and partly, for the sole engineering, also of the Gela biorefinery, and has therefore gained distinctive skills in the field of solutions for reducing the carbon footprint of new and existing plants.

Through this collaboration, Eni and Saipem also confirm their commitment to a transformation that enhances the entire energy supply chain, including all the suppliers involved in the projects in the Open-es system alliance, for strengthening the competitiveness of Italian industry.