Eni Slurry Technology (EST) is a proprietary technology, developed to face this challenge and to represent a long lasting, sustainable and competitive advantage. Eni’s aim is to create an integrated technological chain  capable of extracting heavy and extra heavy crude oils as well as bitumen and converting them – even at the well head – into low environmental impact  automotive fuels.
EST is an innovative process for hydroconversion which employs a slurry nano catalyst and a particular process scheme in order to refine different types of heavy feedstocks, such as residues from the distillation of heavy and extra-heavy crude oils (eg Venezuelan crude from Orinoco Belt) or non conventional oils (eg bitumen from Canadian tar sands), characterized by high contents of sulfur, nitrogen, metals, asphaltenes and other polluting species difficult to manage with traditional refining processes. Compared to the refining technology commercially available, EST does not produce by-products and completely converts the charge into distillates.
The EST project is advancing towards industrial development on the basis of the results obtained in the demonstration plant (1200 barrel per day, b/d) located at Eni’s Taranto refinery, that started in 2005. The building of the first industrial plant (23,000 b/d) based on EST technology is in progress at Sannazzaro de’ Burgondi (PV) refinery.
The stages up to Front End Engineering Design together with the Environmental Impact Study documentation (SLA) and the Environmental Impact Assessment (SIA) were completed in 2008. The ongoing developments of this technology have the purpose of further improving product quality and of simplifying processes, reducing the equipment. 

The use of structured nanomaterials is one of the keys to process innovation and intensification, because material innovations allow to multiply the effects on the system. Projects to study and develop nanomaterials potentially able to radically improve the full conversion of the barrel are underway

The Dual Catalyst technology, based on the use of nano-catalysts, has been tested at pilot scale and protected by patent application. It could lead to a breakthrough development of EST, which can increase productivity and improve product quality.

In the proprietary process called Flexible FCC an application based on the use of a zeolitic additive has already been identified. The project target is to increase bottom cracking conversion. This additive, in combination with a new process scheme, would change the ratio petrol/diesel in favor of diesel. This application is also covered by patent application and won the Eni Award 2009 for internal innovation.

A new class of porous crystalline aluminum silicate organic-inorganic hybrids was recently synthesized for the first time. , for which they have filed two patent applications. Eni is considering the possibility of new applications in catalytic processes.