Italian Descalzi has been appointed as CEO of Eni for a fourth term, sources say
ROME, 20 january (Reuters) – Claudio Descalzi, chief executive of Italy’s Eni ( ENI.MI ), said Prime Minister Giorgia is gearing up to secure Meloni’s support for an unprecedented fourth term in the high-energy group.
With three more years in office, Descalzi, who has been in the post since 2014, will become the longest-serving company chief at the state-controlled group since it was founded in 1953.
The nomination process at Italy’s state-controlled firms is in full swing, and Meloni said on Thursday that Rome economist Riccardo Barbieri would replace Alessandro Rivera in the role. substitute while appointing the Director General of the Treasury, he announced that he wanted to put his stamp on the main affairs.
Even if Rivera fails to win over Meloni to continue, Descalzi will likely be reappointed, two government sources said.
Descalzi, an Eni veteran with strong experience in the exploration and production business, was an alternative to Roma last year gas helped secure its supply, as Moscow restricted its flow to Italy.
Sources added that to make the country independent from Moscow way It won’t be completed until the end of 2024, and key figures in Meloni’s right-wing government want Descalzi to stay on because Rome sees his knowledge of Africa as a key asset.
Eni said it would not comment on decisions related to its shareholders.
Meloni and Algeria on January 22 and 23, when the chief executive, the energy group and its Algerian counterpart Sonatrach are expected to announce new deals. trip should do.
Closer ties with Algeria Italy’s three years of approximately 25 billion cubic meters Russia gas gradually substitute is part of the effort to do
NOT GREEN ENOUGH?
Descalzi is due to present Eni’s final business plan on February 23, and his third term ends in May.
2020His reappointment in 2011 was linked to a commitment to accelerate efforts to reduce carbon emissions without penalizing the group’s growth and dividend flow.
Three years later, Eni’s decarbonisation strategy is still the target of criticism from energy transition advocates who say the company should spend more to develop its green businesses.
“Renewable energy sources and electric mobility – considered mature green technologies – Eni’s other oil and gas are areas where it still invests very little compared to its companies,” Luca Bergamaschi, co-founder of ECCO, an independent think tank on the energy transition, told Reuters.
Eni, planned by France’s TotalEnergies (TTEF.PA) until 2030 10It aims to reach at least 15 gigawatts (GW) of installed capacity in renewable energy, compared to 0 GW.
For electric cars, Eni’s goal is to install 35,000 charging points, while TotalEnergies plans 150,000 by 2025.
In general, ECCO questions Eni’s plans for new gas exploration and production, saying it should limit the group’s fossil fuel business to the exploitation of resources already discovered.
Descalzi, who presented a target of net zero carbon emissions from exploration and production operations by 2030, has repeatedly said that Europe cannot meet all of its energy needs with renewable energy sources alone.
Sources said that about the candidates judge the negotiations between the parties will go into a crisis phase after the regional elections to be held in the main regions of Lombardy and Lazio in February. They usually come down to the wire and sometimes political they can change unexpectedly due to whims.
The Treasury, which owns 4.4% of Eni and controls another 26.2% through state lender CDP, has the right to appoint six members of Eni’s nine-strong board under a list of candidates to be presented by mid-April.
Edited by Keith Weir, Kirsten Donovan
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2023-01-21 10:06:39
Source – reuters
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