Italy Nominates Veteran as Chief of Eni
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Version 0 of 1. LONDON — Claudio Descalzi has served as a hard-working lieutenant to Paolo Scaroni, the chief executive of the Italian oil giant Eni, for years. Now the Italian government, which has a controlling stake in the company, has chosen Mr. Descalzi to succeed Mr. Scaroni. Mr. Descalzi’s nomination Monday, which is subject to confirmation by Eni shareholders next month, puts the company, one of the largest oil firms in Europe, under the direction of a manager who is viewed favorably by analysts. Mr. Descalzi has served as head of exploration and production at the group since 2008. The move to replace Mr. Scaroni, 67, whose third three-year term as chief executive ends this year, comes as Prime Minister Matteo Renzi of Italy continues an effort to overhaul the management of state-controlled companies. While Mr. Scaroni had sought to stay on, he had clearly been grooming Mr. Descalzi to succeed him. The Italian government, which owns 30 percent of Eni, also said Monday that it would nominate Francesco Starace to run Enel, Italy’s largest utility. Mr. Starace is currently chief executive of Enel Green, a renewable-energy subsidiary and a leader in the solar and wind power sectors in Europe and in emerging markets like Mexico and Brazil. By selecting Mr. Descalzi, 59, for Eni, the government appeared to be trying to reassure investors. “Descalzi is well known to analysts and investors and well regarded,” Peter Hutton, an energy analyst at RBC Capital Markets in London, wrote in a note to clients on Tuesday. Under Mr. Descalzi’s leadership of the exploration and production division, Eni discovered 9.5 billion barrels of oil and natural gas from 2008 to 2013, the company said, roughly two and a half times what it produced. Some of the company’s biggest recent discoveries have been in Mozambique, where Eni and Anadarko Petroleum, a company based in Texas, have found large quantities of natural gas; and in the Republic of Congo, where Eni and Total of France are the dominant foreign oil companies. Analysts at Sanford C. Bernstein said in a research note that they expected Mr. Descalzi, who once ran Eni operations in Republic of Congo and Nigeria, to pursue the company’s emphasis on exploration and development in Africa. They also said that Mr. Descalzi was “stepping into the driving seat in a much stronger position” than Mr. Scaroni had nine years ago, given the major discoveries of oil and gas in recent years. Mr. Scaroni does leave Mr. Descalzi with some unwelcome baggage, including an unresolved investigation by Italian prosecutors into allegations of corruption at Saipem, Eni’s oil services subsidiary in Algeria. Investigators searched Eni facilities last year, as well as Mr. Scaroni’s home and office in Milan. Both Mr. Scaroni and Eni have denied any wrongdoing. Mr. Scaroni’s chances of a fourth term may also have been reduced when he received a suspended three-year prison term in March in connection with environmental violations at a unit of Enel a decade earlier. Mr. Scaroni has said that he will appeal the ruling. On the other hand, the company may miss Mr. Scaroni’s ability to play the role of diplomat, while Mr. Descalzi tended to more technical issues. Such diplomacy skills are useful in navigating complicated relationships, including the one with Russia. The Russian natural gas giant Gazprom is a crucial source of natural gas for Italy and Eni, but with the recent crisis in Ukraine, the West has said that it hopes to reduce its dependence on Russian energy. Through a press officer, Mr. Scaroni said that he was “delighted” that Mr. Descalzi had been nominated as chief executive and that he was sure his designated successor would “do a wonderful job.” The new management will also need to turn its attention toward Libya, where Eni is the dominant foreign oil company but where production is frequently cut because of militia violence and other turmoil. After its recent oil and gas discoveries, it will now seek to show that it can be equally effective in development as in exploration. Eni has run into trouble leading the huge Kashagan oil project in Kazakhstan, which is several years behind schedule and over budget. Bringing the Mozambique gas to market will require tens of billions of dollars. |