Eni, Q8 team up to develop Priolo biorefinery

Italian energy major Eni and Kuwait Petroleum Q8 Italy announced strategic investment in the ongoing project for the construction of a new biorefinery in Priolo, Sicily.

“The transformation plan, which we announced in October 2024 and which was ratified by the agreement signed in March 2025 at the Ministry of Enterprises and Made in Italy, will allow us to convert the industrial site in a more environmentally sustainable way, while protecting employment and skills,” said Giuseppe Ricci, Eni COO Industrial Transformation.

“This project reflects Kuwait Petroleum Corporation’s commitment to advancing toward our 2050 Energy Transition Strategy. The investment marks our second megaproject with Eni in Sicily … We are committed to establishing ourselves as a leading provider of sustainable mobility solutions for customers in the European market for years to come,” said Kuwait Petroleum International (KPI) CEO, Shafi Taleb Al Ajmi.

The transformation plan for the Versalis site in Priolo received formal approval from Eni and Kuwait Petroleum board of directors.

The two firms have worked on various projects beginning from the Milazzo refinery in 1996.

The project will draw on experience of both partners and will benefit from Eni’s Ecofining technology.

The biorefinery will have a capacity of 500,000 tonnes per year and will offer extensive operational flexibility for the production of sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) and HVO.

The project has completed the engineering phase. Preparatory activities for awarding procurement and construction contracts have begun; demolition works required for the development of the new infrastructure are about to start; and the authorisation process has been launched.

Completion of the required authorisations and of positive finalisation of the detailed contractual documentation and of the works is expected by the end of 2028.