Eni announced on February 18, 2026 that it is exploring a return to oil and gas trading, a segment the company exited in 2019. The move follows a pattern among integrated majors—BP, Shell and TotalEnergies—who continue to generate billions from trading activities amid geopolitical‑driven price swings.
The company’s chief executive, Claudio Descalzi, said that trading is “not in our DNA” and that Eni would need a partnership to acquire the commercial expertise required to compete. Preliminary talks are underway with commodity trading house Mercuria, with a joint‑venture model under consideration that would allow Eni to leverage its physical production assets while gaining access to Mercuria’s trading platform and market reach.
Eni’s decision comes after a Q4 2024 earnings report that missed adjusted EBIT expectations, reporting €1.69 billion versus an estimate of €1.88 billion. The miss was attributed to weaker performance in the Plenitude and Enilive businesses and an operational outage at the Gela refinery, while cash flow from operations exceeded forecasts. The company’s 52‑week high and strong cash generation provide a financial cushion for the potential trading venture.
The announcement signals a strategic pivot that could diversify Eni’s revenue streams beyond upstream and downstream operations, offering a hedge against production uncertainties and positioning the company to compete more directly with peers that maintain robust trading arms.
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