Investors unconvinced by Eni's 'solid budget' plan
Claudio Descalzi's strategy to reduce debt and focus on upstream has yet to convince investors
Almost a year after taking the helm at Eni, in April Claudio Descalzi was defending his strategy to reduce the Italian major’s debt by divesting assets, slashing dividends and refocusing on upstream operations. Investors, however, are yet to be entirely convinced the new management team can pull it off. “The aim of our plan is a solid budget, to be achieved by covering investments and dividends with budget cash, reducing the quota of distributed profits to below 100% and down to 60% in 2017-2018, keeping the debt/equity ratio below 30% with a decreasing trend from 2016 onwards, and launching 16 new projects for oil and gas production,” Descalzi said in an interview with the Italian daily Cor
Also in this section
20 February 2026
The country is pushing to increase production and expand key projects despite challenges including OPEC+ discipline and the limitations of its export infrastructure
20 February 2026
Europe has transformed into a global LNG demand powerhouse over the last few years, with the fuel continuing to play a key role in safeguarding the continent’s energy security, Carsten Poppinga, chief commercial officer at Uniper, tells Petroleum Economist
20 February 2026
Sempra Infrastructure’s vice president for marketing and commercial development, Carlos de la Vega, outlines progress across the company’s US Gulf Coast and Mexico Pacific Coast LNG portfolio, including construction at Port Arthur LNG, continued strong performance at Cameron LNG and development of ECA LNG
19 February 2026
US LNG exporter Cheniere Energy has grown its business rapidly since exporting its first cargo a decade ago. But Chief Commercial Officer Anatol Feygin tells Petroleum Economist that, as in the past, the company’s future expansion plans are anchored by high levels of contracted offtake, supporting predictable returns on investment
