Eni closes industrial lubricant unit at Porto Marghera

Union officials at the Italian multinational oil and gas company Eni S.p.A. disclosed that the company plans to close the APL industrial lubricant unit at its Porto Marghera plant by the end of June. Eni shut down the industrial lubricant unit of the refinery plant in northeast Italy for six months through May due to declining margins and increased competition in the sector. The 70,000 barrel-per-day unit at Porto Marghera refinery employs 10 workers, who were informed of the closure. Unione Petrolifera, the association of oil companies in Italy, earlier warned that as a result of low demand, the country could produce 4 million tons less of products this year compared to 2011. According to the trade group, with Italian refineries currently producing between 65% and 70% of total capacity, as much as 23% of the country’s total refining capacity could be closed by the end of this year. Eni said the permanent closure of any of its refineries in the country won’t be evaluated until 2014 at the earliest. Furthermore, the company plans to invest €2.8 billion (US$3.4 billion) over the next four years in its Italian refining and marketing division. (June 26, 2012)