Venice, September 21, 2012 – Today, Eni met local and national institutions as well as trade unions to explain the Green Refinery process which will lead to the conversion of the Venice Refinery into a "bio-refinery", producing innovative and high quality bio-fuels. The project, which involves an estimated investment of approximately 100 million euro, is the first in the world to convert a conventional refinery into bio-refinery and is based on Ecofining technology developed and patented by Eni.
The Green Refinery process will start with an initial conversion of existing facilities which will be launched in the second quarter of 2013 and completed by the end of that year. Until the start of the changeover, the refinery will continue to produce using to traditional methods. Biofuel production will start from January 1 2014 and will grow progressively as the new facilities enter into operation. The new facilities to be built under the project will be completed in the first half of 2015.
The new green plant will maintain the Venice site in an economically sustainable industrial operation over the long term, with low environmental impact.
The activities of the Green Refinery will be associated with the construction of a new Logistics Centre.
The project will allow for the use of a reasonable proportion of staff employed in the existing refinery. The staff will be managed with methods and tools that will be shared with the trade unions. The investment program and the activities on the industrial production site will also allow Eni to maintain significant use of all the individual business activities related to the Refinery.
The Green Refinery process is based on distinctive environmental technologies which are highly compatible with Eni's continued commitment to research and innovation. It will make the Venice site a model of technological excellence and will represent a solid business within Eni's scope of activities.
