Saipem beat expectations for first-quarter earnings as an upturn in global oil and gas spending lifted the energy contractor’s core business, putting it on track for a better year. Adjusted core earnings in the period rose 65% to 145 million euros, above a Refinitiv consensus of 103 million euros. Orders in the three months were up 48% at 2.36 billion euros. The results come a month after the company announced a 2 billion euro capital increase in a rescue plan that scaled back its green ambitions to focus on more traditional oil and gas business. “Results are confirming the good momentum in investments in oil and gas in the market… particularly for our offshore activities,” Saipem Chief Executive Francesco Caio said in a call with analysts.

The application collection in view of the next edition Human Knowledge Lab has started. There will be time until May 25 to participate in this year’s edition that will be held in presence at the Cà Foscari University of Venice, from July 11 to 17 July. The Human Knowledge of Eni’s school for business is an itinerant and thematic path dedicated to teams made up of at least two people. HK Lab provides a 7-day full-time presence commitment, with an engaging approach in which theory and practice alternate. During the course, the contributions of startuppers, internal Eni experts and experts from the innovative ecosystem, Business School and academic contexts of excellence will alternate. Participants will have tutors and coaches available to support the process of individual growth and development. The working groups selected for the final phase of HK Lab will be able to collaborate with the polihub, Energizer, Open Badge Joule that certifies the skills in sustainable entrepreneurship for all participants.

Energy group Equinor ASA has made an oil and gas discovery close to the Troll and Fram fields in the North Sea. Based on preliminary estimates, the size of the discovery is between 4 million and 8 million standard cubic meters of recoverable oil equivalent, or 25 million-50 million barrels of recoverable oil equivalent. This is the sixth discovery in this area since the fall of 2019. Equinor plans to drill another exploration well in the area this year, the company said.

Eni has achieved an important milestone for the oil and gas sector in Mexico. The company has offloaded and exported the first cargo from Miamte FPSO operating at the Mizton, Amoca, and Tecoalli fields in Area 1 in the Gulf of Mexico. The oil&gas giant is the first international energy company to develop a complex offshore project being able to export the oil to the international market. The first offloading and export from Miamte FPSO comes following early production from Mizton in June 2019 and after less than 3.5 years from the final investment decision of the Area 1 Project.

Saipem has signed two five years-contracts for offshore drilling in the Middle East and in West Africa.
The contracts are worth more than $400m in total. Saipem aims to deliver two high specification jack-up drilling units. These include one Saipem jack-up unit, as well as one new high-specification jack-up unit that has been chartered from CIMC Group for the project. Each of these contracts has the option to be extended for two additional years. With these additional contracts, Saipem consolidates its presence in a strategic area, expanding the jack-up fleet from three to five units.

GreenIT, joint venture between Plenitude (Eni), CDP Equit for the production of energy from renewable sources, and CI IV, a fund managed by Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners (CIP), have signed an agreement to develop two floating offshore wind farms in Sicily and Sardinia. The 2 projects are situated about 35 kilometers from the coast and have a total capacity of approximately 750 MW. The agreement refers to the development, construction, and operation of a project off the coast of Marsala, consisting of 21 turbines with a power of around 12 MW each for a total capacity of around 250 MW. The second wind farm is to be developed in the sea area facing the south-western coast of Sardinia, consisting of 42 wind turbines with a power of around 12 MW each for a total capacity of more than 500 MW.

UK will join USA in releasing more oil from its reserves as part of a joint effort to lower prices and reduce reliance on Russian supplies. US President Joe Biden on Thursday said his plans to release a million barrels of oil a day for six months would lay the foundations for the States to achieve energy independence from foreign suppliers. He also said he expected allies to release as many as 50 million barrels from their own stocks. For comparison, a month ago, IEA members agreed on a 61.7-million barrel release, with 30 million coming from the U.S. and 2.2 million from the U.K.

The German Minister of Economy Robert Habeck has raised the first of three alert levels concerning the emergency plan for gas supplies. But what does it mean? Does it involve Italy as well? This first level does not yet provide for any restrictions on state supply, but indicates that the federal government must “increase precautionary measures to be prepared in the event of escalation by Russia”. The decision, then, is in the context of the declaration of the preventive alert level: Russian President Vladimir Putin announced last week that Russia would supply gas to Germany and other “hostile states” only upon payment in rubles. The G7 Group of Economic Powers and the EU oppose ruble payments for gas, but Russia remains adamant. There are three crisis levels. The early warning level means: there are “concrete, serious and reliable indications” that an event can occur that will likely lead to a significant deterioration of the gas supply. It follows the alert level and the emergency level. At the emergency level, the State intervenes to ensure the gas supply of “protected customers”. Private homes, but also hospitals, firefighters and police.

Eni, through its Nigerian subsidiaries Nigerian Agip Exploration (NAE) and Agip Energy & Natural Resources (AENR), and the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) have delivered 11 water installations in Borno and Yobo, in northeastern Nigeria. The integrated systems – consisting of wells, photovoltaic panels and treatment systems, provide water for domestic consumption and irrigation. They were built as part of the “Access to Water” initiative implemented by FAO and Eni, in collaboration with Eni’s partner, the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC). The public-private partnership leverages the skills and know-how of the parties to facilitate access to water by communities affected by the humanitarian crisis in the northeast of the country.

Eni gas e luce has become Plenitude a few days, creating a unique business model that integrates the production from renewable, the sale of gas and electricity, energy services and a large network of charging points for electric vehicles. Plenitude supplies energy to about 10 million European customers in the retail market, has a portfolio of approximately 1.1 GW of renewable capacity in operation and has the goal of reaching over 6 GW installed by 2025 and over 15 GW by 2030. In the field of electric mobility, through its subsidiary Be Charge, it has a network of over 6,500 charging points that will be expanded both in Italy and in Europe with over 27,000 charging points planned by 2025 and over 31,000 by 2030. Plenitude is a Benefit Company, which aims to have a positive impact on people, communities and the environment. During this year, Plenitude expects, in line with market conditions, to be listed on the Stock Exchange.