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Our activities in Ravenna

The industrial pole, between innovation and development, is at the centre of Eni and the country’s decarbonisation and circular economy strategy .

An industrial pole marked by innovation and sustainability

In recent years, Eni’s just transition path has involved major innovation and development interventions in the Ravenna industrial pole, in both industrial terms and with a view to inclusive growth. Local activities, which are always based on sustainability and the achievement of the carbon neutral goal by 2050, are developed in relation to its own contribution to local development, safeguarding and enhancing the environment and improving the quality of life of the local people.

Through the synergies developed among the many companies working in Ravenna, in addition to integrating and sharing the many internal competencies acquired, Eni runs many activities in the Ravenna area.

DICS – Central-Northern District

Consisting almost exclusively of natural gas extracted as sea, in 2021 the Eni quota of the Central-Northern District reached 1.79 billion cubic metres of natural gas, equal to around 53% of the national production.

EniPower

The EniPower plant in Ravenna has an installed power of 973 MW and the electricity produced is not only used across the industrial site but is mostly exported to the national electricity network.

Versalis

In Ravenna, Versalis produces elastomers and latex, and its Research Centre works on innovative projects, including the development of elastomers made with recycled materials or renewable sources.

Eni Rewind

In Ravenna, Eni Rewind is working on remediation activities, using its integrated end-to-end model, and on the requalification of the Ca’ Ponticelle former industrial area following the environmental clean-up operations.

Refining & Marketing

The LPG plant of the Refining & Marketing business line in Ravenna, in a strategic location, is linked to the Versalis petrochemical plant through a series of pipelines and manages storage and handling operations for LPG.

Living virtuously in the local community

Ravenna lies at the centre of our decarbonisation and circular economy strategies, with ongoing and recently launched activities including:

  • maintenance of offshore gas assets and the decommissioning of several structures
  • the CO2 capture and storage project
  • the requalification of the former Ponticelle industrial area
  • chemical research projects on latest-generation elastomers.

Natural Resources and local development

Our commitment to the development and maintenance of gas assets translates into a major investment plan in the Central-Northern District (DICS) in Ravenna. Furthermore, in the coming years an offshore decommissioning plan will be implemented to remove the first lot of 9 offshore structures, launching the dismantling campaign starting in 2023-2024. Activities and the community can agree, and the meeting point lies in environmentaleconomic and social sustainability. A representative example of the coexistence between tourism, agriculture and Oil&Gas activities can be found in Emilia Romagna where, next to historical exploration and production activities, the agricultural excellences of the food valley have developed alongside the fuel fields. The coast running between Ravenna and Riccione, which hosts the gas platforms operated by Eni, boasts numerous Blue Flag beaches.

Within the circular economy initiatives, a project has been launched in conjunction with national research institutes to requalify the assets being decommissioned. The project has identified an offshore platform where reconversion activities will be launched to create a marine science park.

In 2021, the activities focusing on the offshore gas assets along the Adriatic concerned:

  • maintenance and production optimisation, mainly in the fields Annalisa (Eni’s interest 100%) and Calipso (Eni’s interest 51%)
  • plant rationalisation on the assets.

Within the offshore facility decommissioning programme for depleted fields, activities continued in compliance with Ministerial Decree dated 15 February 2019 “Linee guida nazionali per la dismissione mineraria delle piattaforme per la coltivazione in mare e delle infrastrutture connesse”. 6 platforms are being removed under ministerial authorisation. Within the circular economy initiatives, a project has been launched in conjunction with national research institutes to requalify the assets being decommissioned. The project has identified an offshore platform where reconversion activities will be launched in order to create a marine science park. In 2021, the IX Collaboration Agreement was signed with the Municipality of Ravenna. The agreement includes: 

  • studies, monitoring programmes and environmental protection activities along the coastline areas
  • energy efficiency measures
  • professional training initiatives, programmes to support the local economy and the enhancement of local activities
  • socio-cultural projects and environmental education and sustainable development programmes in conjunction with several local stakeholders.

A large carbon dioxide storage site

Leveraging Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS) technology, we aim to build one our biggest centres in the world for CO₂ storage off the coast of Ravenna. In fact, the Ravenna District represents an ideal environment in which to develop the CCUS model, similar to other European projects currently at various stages of their development, given that:

  • Eni's natural gas production assets in the Adriatic offshore are characterised by depleted or depleting fields that can be reconverted quickly and safely;
  • It has existing infrastructures both on land and at sea that are currently serving the fields in production and that will operate in synergy with the new CCS developments since a small part will be reused, allowing for a reduction in both the cost of and the time frame for implementation and moreover eliminating the need to use or commit new areas or land resources;
  • Its location is favourable in terms of transport and connecting infrastructure (presence of a large industrial port, land connections with the railway line and the national gas network) and the presence of a developed industrial system and culture;
  • It has specific technical competencies and knowledge of the subsoil acquired over decades of mining activity, which can be effectively converted for the purposes of decarbonisation and the energy transition;
  • It benefits from the presence in the area of a highly competent industrial sector.

Phase 1 will start in 2023 and Phase 2 in 2027. During Phase 1, carbon dioxide will be captured by Eni’s natural gas treatment plant in Casalborsetti, then conveyed to the Porto Corsini Mare Ovest platform, and lastly injected into depleted gas field with the same name, off the coast of Ravenna, for an overall storage capacity of 25,000 tons of CO2. In Phase 2, 4 million tons of CO2 will be stored, to contribute to the decarbonisation of steel mills, cement plants, ceramic and chemical industries, and “hard to abate” sectors in general. Overall, the scheduled activities will help create new work opportunities, with a total estimate of over 500 new jobs during the first phase of the project alone. In Italy, for instance, in 2019, “hard to abate” sectors issued approximately 67 million tons of CO2, out of a national total of 340 millions, that is, 20% of the total and 42% of the industrial sector, responsible for the emission of 158 million tons of CO2 (ISPRA data 2021). The timeline is proceeding and, in December 2022, Eni and Snam signed an agreement to establish an equally owned joint venture to develop and manage Phase 1, also including the studies and preparation activities for subsequent development phases. 

The CCUS model in Ravenna represents a great opportunity not only for Eni, but also for Italian industry to create one of the world's largest CO2 storage hubs.

The large storage potential of the Adriatic offshore fields, which, on the basis of preliminary assessments, is estimated to be up to 500 million tonnes of CO2, gives the project flexibility for further industrial expansions with an annual storage capacity that can be easily increased from the initial one to meet the decarbonisation needs of additional national and even international industrial third-party sites. 

Ponticelle, the enhancement of a disused industrial area

The Ponticelle project in Ravenna focuses on the regeneration of a disused industrial area outside the petrochemical plant which, following the environmental clean-up, will become a hub for sustainable reclamation, waste enhancement and the production of green energy. The project is a concrete example of how remediation can bring added value to the land and local communities through synergies between major companies like Eni and Hera.

The Ponticelle area:

  • will drive the relaunch of the local economy;
  • ensure the re-use and enhancement of previously urbanised areas;
  • avoid the consumption of new land.

Eni Rewind, owner of the former industrial area, has designed and completed the permanent safety measures (MISP) with capping implemented on 18 of the total 26 hectares. The environmental measures, certified by Arpa Emilia-Romagna in August 2021, were implemented prior to the local development plan, which includes the application of innovative, sustainable and recovery technologies as well as urbanisation works. 

The works planned for the Ponticelle project:

  • Photovoltaic plant with storage lab  
    The plant, authorised in January 2021, will be built by Eni New Energy, a Plenitude company, on an 11-hectare plot of the area covered by permanent safety measures, with a solar tracking system with estimated power of approx. 5.6 MW and an annexed storage lab for energy storage, with a power of 1 MW.

  • Soil bio-recovery platform 
    The plant, with a treatment capacity of 80,000 tonnes a year, works on the aerobic biodegradation of soils contaminated by hydrocarbons, coming mainly from the remediation of service stations, through the use of indigenous micro-organisms. The aim is to return the soil tot he same service stations, according to a circular recovery and reuse scheme. The platform, covering an area of 3 hectares, also includes a biolaboratory where preventive analytical tests will be performed on the conformity of incoming waste and periodic bioremediation monitoring surveys. 
  • Multifunuctional platform for industrial waste management 
    The plant will cover an area of around 3 hectares and will be implemented by HEA, the joint venture of Eni Rewind and Herambiente. It will minimise waste disposal, promoting the recovery of energy and materials. The facility, which will replace the current HASI platform (Herambiente Servizi Industriali), will manage up to 60,000 tonnes per year of special waste coming from the environmental and production activities, with particular attention on local activities, in line with the European directives of the Circular Economy Package.

Chemical innovation and respect for the territory

At our industrial site in Ravenna, we produce elastomers, a raw material suited for applications for the production of tyres, technical articles and paper. For these plants, we are implementing some portfolio renewals offering greater added value and improved environmental sustainability. In particular, we are completely renewing the range of products for high performance tyres and energy savings, guaranteeing improved performance during transformation and end use. Furthermore, we are optimising new thermoplastic rubber grades, using innovative technology, for applications with high added value in lubricating oil modification sectors. Finally, Ravenna is integrated with the other production sites in the Po plain area, and is home to a Research Centre specialised in elastomer development, currently working on several innovative projects, including new functionalised elastomers.

In March 2021, through Versalis, Eni’s chemical company and leader in the production and marketing of elastomers, we signed a joint agreement with Bridgestone EMIA for the research, production and supply of synthetic rubber with advanced properties. The Research and Development divisions of the two organisations will collaborate, using an Open Innovation model, to develop technologies and new elastomer grades, including Styrene Butadiene Rubber (SBR), for the production of high-performance tyres. Versalis will leverage the competencies of its research centres in Ravenna and Ferrara, while Bridgestone will use its European Technical Centre near Rome.

2021 Eni's Local Sustainability Report for Ravenna

Every year, we publish a complete report on the activities carried out by Eni’s companies within the Ravenna multi-company site to highlight the contribution to the path towards Just Transition undertaken by Eni, towards to local development, to protect and enhance the territory, to improve the quality of life of its residents. Over the last years, our just transition path brought the Ravenna industrial hub at the heart of Eni’s decarbonisation and circular economy strategies, with initiatives being implemented or recently launched, such as the COcapture and storage project, Ponticelle’s redevelopment, and the research projects on latest-generation elastomers. In 2021, despite the context characterized by the ongoing emergency status due to the pandemic, we designed and implemented the main innovation and development interventions.

The document forms part of Eni’s sustainability reporting, which also includes the 2021 Consolidated Disclosure of Non-Financial Information (NFI), drafted in accordance with Legislative Decree 254/2016, and Eni’s 2021 Sustainability Report. These can be consulted for further information.

PDF 3.11 MB

“70 anni e oltre”. A photography book devoted to Ravenna and its industrial entities

The photography book “70 anni e oltre. 1952-2022” tells of the evolution of the District, which has seen huge changes in the energy sector since 1952, from offshore business projects to more recent and innovative ones run in the energy transition field. In these pages, the Ravenna hub is celebrated as a benchmark for the development of unique technical and managerial competencies and experiences, adopted locally and exported abroad. The photographs were also the subject of an exhibition hosted at the Franciscan Cloisters in Ravenna.