With the measure, the government aims to maintain employment and continuity of production at the Isab-Lukoil plant, which was at risk of shutting down due to the embargo on crude oil imports from Moscow
Italy placed Russian oil giant Lukoil’s refinery in the Sicilian city of Priolo under provisional state supervision to avoid closure and guarantee energy supplies, a government source told AFP on Thursday.
The Isab-Lukoil refinery, one of the largest in Europe, was at risk of shutting down production due to the entry into force on December 5 of the embargo on Russian crude oil imports by sea, imposed by the European Union (EU) as sanction for the invasion of Ukraine.
Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni has expressed her “satisfaction” with the decision taken regarding the refinery, as the government’s intervention will allow “to guarantee the continuity of work”. Not in vain, Isab-Lukoil and related companies employ about 10,000 people.
“The emergency intervention is intended to protect both a strategic national energy pool and employment that is so important for Sicily and the whole country,” Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni said in a statement. A government source specified that this “provisional administration” will last up to a year.
Fearing sanctions, European banks stopped financing Isab-Lukoil’s activities and providing the necessary guarantees to import oil from other countries. The refinery has an annual refining capacity of 10 million tons of crude oil and supplies about 20% of the country’s needs.
Source: La Verdad
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