The Italian refining plants remain strategic for the country system, but the companies cannot act without rules. The concertation method is the one for which the union organizations and institutions are fighting and do not want to give up. It therefore happens that in Syracuse - one of the historical poles of the international oil market - the unions ask Esso not to exclude them from sale of the Augusta plants and not only to Algerian state oil company Sonatrach. That local politics see little transparency in the operation and that alarms spread from Sicily to Rome. Confindustria Sicilia for its part is concerned about the repercussions on the local economy.
After days of mixed controversies, something reassuring came out of the Augusta refinery yesterday. There was a meeting between Sonatrach and national, territorial and company union representatives. Cgil, Cisl, Uil had released a very harsh document on the case, which in general jeopardized the permanence of Esso plants in Southern Italy. On 9 May, another summit had not had the desired effects. In essence, all aspects of the transfer to the Algerian company had not been clarified. But yesterday Abdelmoumen Ould Kaddour, CEO of Sonatrach, showed up in Augusta and explained the sale plan of the business unit of the refinery and three associated fuel depots. The very delicate point of employment levels was purchase. I 660 employees of Esso Italiana are transferred to the buyer under the same conditions.
The CEO confirmed his willingness to maintain management continuity and standards in terms of health, safety and the environment. Even following legal proceedings a few years ago, Esso has achieved good levels of quality. The agreement is broad and the Algerians also take over two fuel depots in Palermo and Naples. However, Esso Italiana and the companies of the ExxonMobil Group will continue to be present in the Italian market as they have multi-year agreements for the supply of petroleum products. The sale – said Gianni Murano, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Esso Italia – is the result of a careful evaluation by the management. Without prejudice to the commitment in Italy, where Esso has been operating for over 125 years. It yields to reorganize and expand strategies.
The Sicilian area is certainly the one with the highest impact in terms of manpower basins, manufacturing processes, quantity of products processed. There Svimez has surveyed that the six refineries located in Southern Italy are among the largest in Europe with over 60% of the processing capacity. After all, the trade union and political alarm revolved around the overall industrial stability of Italian oil activities. Abdelmoumen Ould Kaddour yesterday spread optimism arguing that his company has the goal of a long-term presence in Italy, with a commitment to constructive dialogue with the workforce and local communities. Other bureaucratic steps will be finalized in the coming days, but against the backdrop of Sicily and the other oil terminals, the shadow of environmental protest and the request for territorial redevelopment has never disappeared. An Italian constant of the relationship between investments, industrial processes and energy supplies.
