The Russians tried to sell the plant before the oil embargo took effect in December.
Oil Refinery ISAB, located in Sicily and owned by the Russian oil company Lukoil, will be placed under temporary state administration. This decision was adopted by the Council of Ministers of Italy for the “protection of national interests in strategic sectors of production”, reports Corriere della Sera.
According to the source, it is assumed that the government will participate in the management of the hydrocarbon sector “in order to ensure continuity of production and security of supply”. It also talks about compensatory measures that could be applied to support companies affected by the EU oil embargo.
The ISAB plant in Sicily employs 3,500 people, and it provides jobs for another 6,500 people indirectly. The enterprise is one of the key ones in its field, as it accounts for about 20% of oil processing in all of Italy and 8% of economic activity in Sicily.
After the full-scale invasion of Russia into Ukraine, the refinery was threatened with closure. This is due to the fact that due to the risk, creditors refused to grant loans for the purchase of raw materials from outside Russia. Therefore, due to the oil embargo, which enters into force on December 5, ISAB would stop receiving oil for processing.
Read also: EU countries have almost decided on the price ceiling for Russian oil at the level of $60 per barrel – Bloomberg
Related video
Earlier it was reported that “Lukoil” wanted to sell ISAB before the introduction of EU sanctions. Russia used the plant to export its own oil products to the US market, passing them off as Italian.
