L’allarme dei petrolieri: «Settore a rischio con nuove tasse»

Irritating news has reached the oil industry, warning of potential financial strain due to new taxes. In a letter sent to Italian Premier Giorgia Meloni and Environment and Energy Security Minister Gilberto Pichetto Fratin, the association representing major Italian players in refining, logistics, distribution, and low carbon research warns of further tax deductions that could drain investment capabilities.

The president of the association, Gianni Murano, explains that international majors are already considering redirecting new investments to more competitive areas due to the European refining capacity being insufficient. This is largely due to a lack of decarbonization policies and their focus on carbonization goals at the expense of energy security.

The recent increase in Irap tax, introduced in February, has also affected the Italian refining sector, which has seen industrial prices in the first seven months of the year being lower than the EU average. This has led to reduced margins for Mediterranean European refining, below the operational costs of complex refineries. The association stresses the need for a stable regulatory framework, as investment in industrial conversion requires long-term horizons and cannot coexist with measures that increase uncertainty or penalize companies' investment capacity.