The project under way in Gela comprises:
- converting the traditional refinery into a biorefinery
- construction of the first Waste to Fuel pilot plant
- installing solar panels
- environmental remediation and regeneration for new production activities
- measures to support the territory: projects involving local schools, the MacchitellaLAB project and other initiatives
- Upstream activities: hydrocarbon production, fully exploiting the potential of fields already in operation, maintenance of facilities and wells in production and the Argo-Cassiopea project
- building a Safety Competence Centre and Safety Training Centre
All the petrochemical plants built in Gela since 1962 have closed down. The biorefinery, one of the most innovative plants in Europe, has been in operation since August 2019. The plant has a processing capacity of up to 750,000 tonnes a year and will be able to treat larger and larger quantities of used vegetable oil, animal fat, algae and by-products to produce high-quality biofuels.
It all began on 6 November 2014, when the Ministry of Economic Development, the Region of Sicily, the Municipality of Gela, the trade unions, Confindustria Centro Sicilia and Eni, together with its subsidiaries in the area (EniMed, Gela Refinery, Eni Rewind and Versalis), signed a Protocol for a new development plan and the relaunch of economic and industrial activity, amounting to a maximum financial commitment of €2.2 billion. To date, over €1.275 billion have been invested in the territory through environmentally, socially and economically sustainable investments aimed at developing the concept of circular economy, going beyond the objectives set by the 2014 Protocol in terms of the employment of direct personnel and the local supply chain. We operate the following activities in Gela, in addition to the Safety Competence Center and the Safety Training Center: