Eni S.p.A. () is an Italian multinational oil and gas company. Eni is present in 70 countries, and currently is Italy's largest industrial company. It has a market capitalization of US$ 38.06 billion, as of 31 December 2020. The Italian Government owns a 30.33% golden share in the company. Golden shares are special stock shares that allow the government to control a company. 4.37% of the shares are held through the state Treasury and 25.96% are held through the Cassa depositi e prestiti (a bank mostly owned by the Ministry of Economy and Finance of Italy). Eni ranks among the top 100 on Fortune Global 500 list for largest companies by revenue.
Agip was started in 1926. After World War II, Enrico Mattei was appointed Special Administrator to close down Agip. With the discovery of the Caviaga gas field in the Po Valley, the process of closing Agip was halted. Enrico Mattei converted it to a state monopoly (a company with no competition), and renamed it Eni. Eni comes from the company's original full name "Ente Nazionale Idrocarburi" (National Hydrocarbons Agency). Eni was to supply energy to Italy and contribute to the country's industrial development.
Eni decided that natural gas would supply the energy needed from the crisis of the 1973 oil embargo. They import gas from the Soviet Union and the Netherlands. Snam started the Transmediterranean pipeline, moving gas from the Hassi-R-Mel field in Algeria to the Po Valley. The gas pipeline was more than 2,500 km or 1550 miles long. It started in the Algerian desert and crosses Tunisia. It then crosses the Sicilian Channel at a water depth of over 650 metres or 2100 feet. Next it goes through Sicily and up the length of the entire Italian peninsula.
In the 1990s, Eni changed from a public corporation into a joint stock company. Most of Eni's share capital was put on the market in four successive public issues. Agip's international work increased with new acquisitions in Algeria, China, Angola, the North Sea and Egypt. New agreements were signed with Kazakhstan, Azerbaijan and for the Nigerian and Angolan deep water oil. Eni incorporated Agip, and became an oil and gas producer. Eni's daily oil and gas production reached the equivalent of 1,871 million barrels of oil.
In the 2000s, Eni started many projects for the production of renewable sources in Italy, such as the conversion of its refineries in Porto Marghera and in Gela into biorefineries (refineries that convert organic material to energy), or Progetto Italia, to build photovoltaic plants in Sardinia (Assemini, Porto Torres).
Eni operates in the exploration (searching) and production of hydrocarbons (oil and natural gas) in Italy, North Africa, West Africa, the North Sea, the Gulf of Mexico and Australia. It also operates in areas with great potential to produce oil such as the Caspian Sea, the Middle and Far East, India and Alaska.
Its crude oil production comes primarily from Libya, Egypt, Nigeria, the Congo, the North Sea, and Angola. Smaller amounts of crude oil production come from Tunisia and in the United States. Eni's China production began in 1992, but it is only 1 percent of Eni's total crude oil production.
Eni supplies natural gas. Gas sales reached 73.07 billion cubic meters in 2019. In June 2008 the company bought 57% of Distrigas, a Belgian company that supplies natural gas. In March 2009 it bought the rest of Distrigas. As of June 30, 2009 Distrigas is a fully owned subsidiary of Eni.
Eni's generates electricity in Italy, using both natural gas and solar power.
Eni operates Saipem, a subsidiary, and owns 30.54% of the company. Saipem works in engineering, and oilfield services and construction.
Eni is one of the majors operators in refining and marketing of petroleum products in Italy. Eni is also engaged in retail and wholesales activities in Central Europe and Eastern Europe.
Since 2007, Eni ranked in the Dow Jones Sustainability World Index and it was also included in the FTSE4Good Index, two famous indexes that evaluate the sustainability performance and the ethical investments of the companies on the stock exchange. In 2013 Eni was the only FTSE MIB (Milano Italia Borsa) company to have the triple E for Standard Ethics. Eni is among the Top 10 companies by sustainability score in the WBCSD rank, a rank conceived by a global organization including over 200 international companies that works on issues related to sustainable development. Eni is involved in many projects to help fighting the climate change and cooperates with several institution to reduce its impact on the environment.
The Central Energy Italian Gas Holding scandal in 2005 involved Eni and Gazprom. Eni was one of the two companies selected to provide natural gas to Italy. Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi was a close friend of one of the main owners of Eni. The Italian parliament canceled the contract. In 2009, the European Commission filed formal antitrust charges against Eni. The commission believes that Eni has conspired (planned) to keep competitors from using its gas pipelines. In 2010, Eni proposed to sell its shares of the pipelines TAG, TENP e Transitgas and the European Commission accepted Eni proposal.
Mercedes GP
Mercedes GP Petronas Formula One Team, the trading name of Mercedes-Benz Grand Prix Limited. They are the Formula One racing team and constructor (builder) of Mercedes-Benz. Mercedes-Benz debuted in Formula One in , and competed with great success in the and seasons. After the 1955 season, Mercedes left the sport. Despite part-ownerships, and engine supplier deals in the 1990s and 2000s, it did not return as a factory team until November 2009.
Mercedes has been supplying engines to the McLaren team since . Mercedes-Benz, through its parent Daimler AG, and in partnership with Aabar Investments, reached an agreement to purchase the Brawn GP team. Daimler would buy 45.1% of Brawn, and Aabar would buy 30%. The purchase would be pending corporate and regulatory approval. The Brawn team was created when they purchased the Honda Racing F1 team. Brawn had won the drivers' and constructors' championships in the season, their first and only season as a team.
Former Williams driver Nico Rosberg was joined by seven-time World Champion Michael Schumacher for the team's maiden racing season. Mercedes has Nick Heidfeld as the test and reserve driver. In August, Mercedes released Heidfeld from his contract to allow him to do tyre testing. He will test the new Pirelli tyre that will be used in the season. In September, Heidfeld was signed by Sauber to replace Pedro de la Rosa.
Mercedes-Benz first competed in Grand Prix motor racing in the 1930s. The Silver Arrows cars by Mercedes-Benz and rivals Auto Union were the best racing cars. Both teams were heavily funded by the Nazi regime. They won all the European Grand Prix Championships after 1932. Rudolf Caracciola won three of the championships for Mercedes-Benz.
In 1954 Mercedes-Benz returned to racing in the current f1 series using the advanced Mercedes-Benz W196 (pictured). This car was run in both open-wheeled and streamlined (body work that covered the wheels) forms. Juan Manuel Fangio, a previous champion the season transferred mid-season from Maserati to Mercedes-Benz for their debut at the French Grand Prix on July 4, 1954. The team had immediate success with a 1-2 victory (taking both first and second place) with Fangio and Karl Kling. They also set the fastest lap of the race with (Hans Herrmann). Fangio went on to win three more races in 1954, and won the Formula One World Championship.