Translated automatically by AI from the Italian original.
Senator Antonio Nicita, deputy leader of the PD group in the Senate, has tabled a new parliamentary question in the Budget Committee to the Minister for the Economy and Finance, seeking clarity on the relationship between Isab and Trafigura and on the public resources that have been committed—directly or through state-owned companies—to the Priolo refinery and to the trader that effectively controls its crude oil supply and sales.
With control of Isab passing to Ludoil, the contract binding the refinery to Trafigura remains in force. According to the ruling by the Italian Competition Authority, that contract runs until 2033 and entrusts Trafigura with supplying crude oil and purchasing roughly 90% of the refined products. Press reports mention ongoing negotiations between Ludoil and Trafigura to revise the commercial terms, which Nicita argues confirms that the issue exists and that the Government cannot remain a bystander—especially if the talks concern only the expansion of refining capacity and not the entire refined volume.
In his question, the senator first asks whether the contract, at the current refining capacity, allows the plant to retain a sufficient margin to finance investments in the ecological transition, and whether any contractual changes tied to expanding production capacity also guarantee safety standards for workers, health protection and environmental safeguards. He also asks what financial agreements exist between SACE and Trafigura and what the total amount of public funds or funds from state-owned companies allocated to Isab and Trafigura is, including in light of Golden Power requirements. On the latter, he finally requests at least a general outline of the nature of the requirements, the financial commitments arising from them and the parties responsible for bearing those costs.
The political point raised by Nicita concerns the dual role of public guarantees and, in particular, seeks confirmation of a SACE guarantee backing the financing with which Ludoil acquired Isab, given reports that in 2023 SACE had already guaranteed a $500 million loan to Trafigura. If the state ends up supporting both sides of a contract that, in the senator’s view, shifts business risk onto a strategic asset while leaving most of the profit margins elsewhere, Parliament has the right to know whether the sustainability of this arrangement for public finances was assessed before those guarantees were granted. Nicita acknowledges that the exercise of special powers requires confidentiality, but argues that this cannot extend to preventing disclosure of at least the type of obligations imposed and who bears their cost—especially when jobs, health and the industrial future of an entire area like Priolo are at stake.
