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Eni

Eni's petrochemical operations are concentrated in olefins and aromatics, basic intermediate products, chlorine derivatives, polystyrenes and elastomers and through Polimeri Europa Eni is one of the major European polyethylene producers.
Its major production sites are located in Italy and in Western Europe, where Eni holds relevant market positions.
In 2000, Eni sold 5.6 million tons of petrochemical products. Eni's petrochemical operations are concentrated in Italy and in Western Europe, where Eni holds relevant market positions.
Such products are used in several sectors, from tires to packaging, automobiles, building, the electrical-electronic sector and household objects.

Eni intends to reduce capital employed in petrochemical activities by selling non strategic businesses and shutting down inefficient plants. Along these lines in February 2001, Eni signed an agreement with Dow Chemical for the sale of its polyurethane business and the purchase of a 50% interest in Polimeri Europa.

This agreement concentrates Eni's petrochemical activities in the olefin, polyethylene, styrene and elastomer areas, more closely related to Eni's core business, where Eni is a technological and market leader, while facilitating the future search for partnerships aimed at reducing the share of petrochemicals in Eni's overall portfolio.
Capital expenditure will be focused on consolidating businesses with good market prospects and on maintaining plant efficiency and compliance with environmental and safety requirements.
Cost reduction actions will be intensified by closing down and stopping plants, restructuring industrial and staff services and developing e-business.

August 28, 2003 Financial Times

ENI may split elastomers business to speed divestment plans.

Having failed to find a buyer for the business as a whole, ENI says it may split the elastomers activities it is selling. The elastomers business is part of Polimeri Europa and had sales of EUR 650 M/y.

日本経済新聞　2003/9/19

伊ＥＮＩ、化学部門撤退へ

イタリアのエネルギー大手、イタリア炭化水素公社（ＥＮＩ）のミンカート最高経営責任者（ＣＥＯ）は１８日、不採算の化学部門から撤退する意向を明らかにした。

Platts 2007/1/18

Italy's Eni to close Gela cracker in refinery upgrade plan

Italy's Eni will close down its Ethylene 2 cracker at Gela, in Sicily, which would result in a cut of around 400 jobs, or about 33%, of the workforce at the site, the company confirmed in a statement, Wednesday.

The closure of Ethylene 2 was because the plant was old and the technology obsolete, Eni said. In addition, the relatively small size of the cracker, with a 245,000 mt/year ethylene capacity, meant that cracker operation was not competitive.

July 24, 2012 Versalis

Versalis to Partner with Genomatica and Novamont for Bio-based Butadiene
     Versalis aims to be first to build commercial plants

Versalis, Eni's chemicals subsidiary leader in the production of elastomers, together with Genomatica (a leading developer of process technology for renewable chemicals), and Novamont (a leader in biodegradable plastics and pioneer in third generation integrated biorefineries) signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) to establish a strategic partnership to enable production of butadiene from renewable feedstocks.

Butadiene is a raw material used in the production of rubber for tires, electrical appliances, footwear, plastics, asphalt modifiers, additives for lubricating oil, pipes, building components, and latex.

The partnership, on the basis of which a joint venture will be established, will develop a comprehensive ‘end-to-end' process for production of polymer-grade butadiene from biomass. Versalis will hold a majority interest in the joint venture holding company and aims to be the first to build commercial plants using the process technology upon project success.

This unique and important agreement brings together the core competencies of all three companies. The partnership will leverage Genomatica's proprietary technologies and intellectual property for producing butadiene, Versalis' extensive expertise in catalysis process development and process engineering scale-up and market applications of butadiene derivatives, as well as Novamont's experience in renewable feedstocks.

Under this agreement, Versalis will use Genomatica's process technology for economically competitive and sustainable production of an important supply-constrained chemical. The process technology aspect of the agreement is intended to be made available for future licensing in Europe, Africa and Asia.

Butadiene is a key intermediate for Versalis elastomers business. The raw material required to produce it, extracted from ‘C4's (a mixture of molecules containing four carbon atoms) and produced by cracking plants, is increasingly subject to availability problems.

Decreasing supplies and a lack of dedicated butadiene production facilities have resulted in significant long-term pressure on the price and volatility of the chemical, which in turn increases the price of butadiene-based products, including tires.

Concerns of scarcity in the butadiene market are compounded by growth forecasts within the BRIC countries where demand for automotive products made from butadiene, such as tires, is expected to increase.

In this context, butadiene supplies from biomass become strategic to Versalis, because in times of C4 stream scarcity it can be freed from naphtha cracking processes. So the partnership represents a valuable opportunity to boost the supply of butadiene with the support of its know-how and the industrial system, and to expand its bio-based portfolio.

"Genomatica's process technology for on-purpose butadiene combined with our experience in downstream applications and our ability to rapidly scale and commercialize the process can expand our industry's approach to C4 production, seizing a promising business opportunity in a market that is experiencing a critical time" said Daniele Ferrari, CEO of Versalis. "This partnership, which follows the establishment of Matrìca, the equal joint venture with Novamont for the production of monomers, intermediates and polymers from renewable sources, accelerates the entry of Versalis in that business by strengthening its leadership in elastomers, in line with the new strategy of focusing on products with high-added value."

"Together we will have a great opportunity to apply Novamont's concept of third generation integrated biorefineries to a well-known chemical like butadiene, applying new biotechnological and chemical processes to local biomass for an innovative industry at local level, thereby improving environmental, economical and social sustainability," said Catia Bastioli, CEO, Novamont. "And the ability for on-purpose production will make it easier to adjust supply to meet local market demand while staying close to a low volatility feedstock and reducing environmental footprint."

"Versalis and Novamont are ideal partners to join us in leading the development of process technology for the production of butadiene from renewable feedstocks," said Christophe Schilling, Ph.D., CEO of Genomatica. "Together we can cover the entire value chain, and drive from innovation to commercialization, providing a comprehensive solution. This partnership is further validation of the ability of Genomatica's technology platform to address multiple chemical market opportunities."

The agreement between the three parties builds upon a series of recent key events including the June 2011 formation of Matrìca, a 50:50 joint venture in bio-based chemicals production between Versalis and Novamont; the announcement that Versalis plans to heavily invest in innovation and capitalize on Elastomers, and Genomatica's successful production of pound quantities of bio-based butadiene in August 2011.

2012/10/5  ENI

Versalis signs agreement with Honam Petrochemical Corp. for the production of elastomers in South Korea

The new site will use Versalis’ proprietary technologies and will have a production capacity of about 200.000 tons of elastomers annually, which will be delivered primarily on the Asian markets.

Polimeri Europa changes name and becomes Versalis 

Versalis, Eni’s chemical subsidiary and global leader in elastomers, and Honam Petrochemical Corporation, one of the major petrochemical companies in South Korea, have signed an agreement for the development of an elastomeric production plant at its Honam facilities in Yeosu (South Korea).

The new site will use Versalis’ proprietary technologies and will have a production capacity of about 200.000 tons of elastomers annually, which will be delivered primarily on the Asian markets. The start-up is planned by the end 2015. Versalis will provide its engineering services, commercial development skills and technical assistance while Honam will provide the primary raw materials, operative sites and existing structures.

The agreement signed in Milan by the CEO of Versalis, Daniele Ferrari, and the CEO of Honam Petrochemical Corporation, Sooyoung Huh, sets the basis for the creation of a joint venture, the goal of which is to strengthen Versalis’ position on the global market, particularly in the Asia-Pacific region.

The partnership with Honam Petrochemical Corporation is in addition to the recent inauguration of the new Versalis office in Shanghai and its joint venture with Petronas for the development and joint use of a production plant in Malaysia.

Eni and SABIC will jointly develop a technology for natural gas conversion into synthesis gas to produce high value fuels and chemicals

Eni and SABIC today signed a Joint Development Agreement to further develop an innovative technology for natural gas conversion into synthesis gas that can be further transformed into high value fuels and chemicals, such as methanol.

The partnership will involve, among other activities, the construction of an Industrial Demonstration Plant that will be built and operated inside an Eni industrial premises.

The development project will advance the technology, which is based on the Short Contact Time Catalytic Partial Oxidation (SCT-CPO) of natural gas, to further sustain the Eni and SABIC business by using in a more efficient way the cleanest and lower GHG emission fossil fuel.

This technology was initially developed by Eni after an intensive R&D period. This was coupled with SABIC’s short contact time reactor R&D and the company’s extensive knowledge of the integration of synthesis gas generation into processes to produce derived chemicals.

With this agreement, Eni and SABIC will be able to leverage world class R&D and operational experience to enable the success of the project.  The joint technology will be a truly innovative way of making synthesis gas and integration into high value applications to achieve lower CAPEX and OPEX, higher energy efficiency, lower CO2 footprint and wide feedstock flexibility.