Our planet would be poorer and more polluted without research and technological development. Natural resources wouldn't be available and mankind would suffer from starvation, lack of energy resources and there would be enormous difficulty in communications.
The progress obtained by technology as well as all the new findings and knowledge have moved forward the limits of known resources and the discovery of new ones has constantly contradicted catastrophic outlooks of a fatal global decline.

The Energy Industry has run up a debt to technology for all the achievements it has allowed: from the increases in energy efficiency obtained during the past fifty years to the increased availability of fossil resources; from the lower environmental impact to the reduction in the energy generation cost of all energy sources and much more. However, the industry hasn't always invested enough to make sure that science and technology could accomplish even more. This trend is at least in part due to a paradox of success: throughout the 20th century it was possible to keep energy prices low thanks to technological and scientific progress. Consequently, low prices discouraged further investments especially when it came to renewable energy sources. Nevertheless the present and the future call for a change in attitude.

A high technological committment is required in order to exploit traditional resources evermore difficult, starting from oil. It also takes a big effort in research in order to lower the polluting potential of traditional sources of energy – oil, gas and coal – as well as the negative effects of fossil fuels on our planet's climate. In general, we need to accomplish a development model with lower carbon intensity. The solution is not close at hand yet. It requires long-term commitment in basic research and technology innovation.

For these reasons starting from 2006, Eni launched a new course in the strategy of technology innovation and management of research activities, making it a reference point of the broader strategy of sustainable development. This first edition of Eni's Technology Report  - published alongside Eni's Sustainability Report since this year – offers to its readers a summary of the actions taken so far.
In a short time, we have already obtained important results. Nevertheless, they are nothing but the beginning of a path that has as final objective to make Eni a world leader in technology innovation in oil, gas, environment and innovative renewable energies as well.

Paolo Scaroni, Chief Executive Officer

The world's need for energy is constantly increasing, driven by economic and demographic  growth, and by the lifestyles of the most affluent societies. Moreover, the legitimate aspirations of further development of the poorer countries as well as the developing ones rely on having access to energy.
The inequality in the availability of energy among different areas of the planet is calling for a deep reconsideration of the styles of consumption and also for vast energy efficiency plans: only by doing so will the legitimate access to energy by the emerging areas of the world not collide with our planet's ecosystem. If consuming less and better is currently a must, the availability of energy sources with lower environmental impact and reduced green house gases emissions is the indispensable target for the future.

Over 80% of the world's consumption of primary energy is currently guaranteed by fossil sources such as oil, coal and natural gas. All three of them have some environmental impacts and emit carbon dioxide into the atmosphere, although in different quantities. Nuclear and hydroelectric energy, whose impact is lower in terms of greenhouse gases emissions, satisfy about 8% of world energy demand. The traditional biomasses, furthermore, assure an additional 10% of the world's energy consumption.
There is little room left for other renewable sources of energy due to their extremely low energy and power density and also to their very high price.  In other words, huge quantities of renewable sources are needed to provide small volumes of energy at prices that are still too high.
The excessive dependence on fossil energy, polluting and harmful to the planet's climate – but easily accessible, flexible and at acceptable price – is the energy trap that our planet has to free itself from.

Finding a solution to this trap represents a requirement for the survival and long term prosperity of the Oil and Gas industry, and only scientific and technological research can actually provide effective answers. These are the reasons why Eni, with its turning point in 2006, chose to put technology innovation at the core of its sustainable growth strategies by implementing the following action plans:

• Elaborating the first Research and Technology Master Plan.
• Identifying the ten technological platforms.
• Launching the Along with Petroleum Program.
• Setting up the Blue Sky Fund.
• Redefining the mission of  Eni's Technological Development Research Centers.
• New approach to Intellectual Property Management and Development.
• New policy of Strategic Alliances and Scientific collaborations with Universities and Centers of Excellence around the world.
• Setting up the Eni Award to acknowledge cutting edge scientific research.

Eni Technology Report 2007-2008 summarizes the way we have approached these issues, reporting the quantitative and qualitative elements of the stage achieved by Eni so far.

Leonardo Maugeri, Strategy & Development Director