Eni ENI NYSE: E reported first-quarter 2026 results that management said reflected strong execution against strategic priorities despite heightened volatility and disruption across energy markets. On the company’s earnings call, Chief Transition and Financial Officer Francesco Gattei highlighted pro forma EBIT of €3.5 billion, cash flow from operations of €2.9 billion, and pro forma gearing of 15%, which he said was within Eni’s expected 10%–15% range. On a pro forma basis that assumes the “full effect of planned deconsolidation,” Gattei said gearing would be 12%.
Quarterly performance and segment commentary
Gattei said Eni’s first-quarter results did not fully capture the benefit of a stronger commodity-price environment because of downstream and biorefinery maintenance typically performed ahead of the driving season. He said Exploration & Production delivered 9% year-over-year production growth with “consistent capture of benchmark prices,” noting contributions from Norway and Congo and adding that results came “after disruption to Middle East volumes in March.”
Gattei said Global Gas & LNG Portfolio (GGP) pro forma EBIT of €0.3 billion reflected a more volatile scenario and aligned with updated full-year guidance of €1.3 billion. In Eni’s transition-related businesses, he cited pro forma EBITDA of €0.52 billion, consistent with full-year guidance of €2.4 billion. He said Plenitude is expected to increase gross EBITDA by 20% to €1.3 billion for the year, while Enilive is expected to reach €1.1 billion in EBITDA, 16% above last year, supported by biorefining margins.
Enilive CEO Stefano Ballista said the biofuels scenario improved significantly during the first quarter, driven primarily by “market fundamentals” including regulation and mandates. He pointed to an increase in U.S. renewable volume obligations and changes in European greenhouse gas targets as supporting demand. Ballista said Enilive delivered €220 million of pro forma adjusted EBITDA in the first quarter, €50 million higher than the first quarter of last year, driven by biorefinery performance that helped offset “downward pressure on retail prices” in Europe linked to fossil fuel prices. He added that the Venice biorefinery was shut for the entire quarter due to maintenance and upgrading, with a return expected during the second quarter.
In refining and chemicals, Gattei said refinery utilization was low due to a major turnaround program. He also said Versalis’ results showed progress “curtailing its losses,” consistent with the company’s plan. Adriano Alfani said chemicals transformation had a positive impact of roughly €100 million in the quarter, though a negative market scenario reduced the net improvement to around €85 million. Alfani said Eni expects the second quarter to be “significantly better” than the first, citing additional cost actions and a perceived shortage in polymer markets, despite high feedstock and utility costs.
Exploration: ‘best ever start’ and near-infrastructure discoveries
Gattei described year-to-date exploration as “probably the best ever start to a year,” saying Eni added around one billion of new resources in the first four months of 2026 across seven countries. He emphasized that the new resources have “a credible and visible pathway to development and production,” aligning with Eni’s focus on time-to-market.
Among the discoveries discussed on the call:
- Angola: Gattei said Azule announced the Algaita discovery on Block 15/06 with preliminary estimates of around 500 MMbbl oil in place and potential for fast development given an FPSO 18 km away.
- Côte d’Ivoire: The Murene South-1 well extended the Calao gas-condensate discovery, which Gattei described as “world-class,” with up to 5 TCF and 450 MMbbl in place.
- Libya: Two offshore gas discoveries announced in March were estimated at more than 1 TCF in place, near existing Bahr Essalam facilities. Later in the Q&A, COO Guido Brusco added that a separate deepwater well in Libya resulted in a “non-commercial discovery,” but said it improved understanding of a large basin with multiple prospects.
- Egypt: The Deniz discovery in the Temsah concession was preliminarily estimated at 2 TCF of gas and 130 MMbbl of condensate in place, less than 10 km from existing infrastructure.
- Indonesia: Gattei highlighted the Gliga gas-condensate discovery in the Kutei Basin, estimated at 5 TCF and 300 MMbbl in place, calling it effectively a “second Geng.”
Brusco said the earlier production plateau expectation for Indonesia of about 0.5 million barrels per day reflected the then-known resource base, but with Gliga and other resources he suggested the medium-to-long-term production target could rise “to more than 500,” adding that “700, 750 might be a reasonable figure.”
Exploration Director Aldo Napolitano said Eni’s 2026 exploration program was “really front-loaded,” but the company still plans additional wells this year, including another prospect in Indonesia’s Kutei Basin, “a couple of wells in Egypt,” and a well in Ghana.
Updated guidance, macro assumptions, and shareholder returns
Gattei confirmed Eni’s outlook for 2026 E&P production growth of 3% to 4%, incorporating current assumptions for Middle East disruption. He said Eni updated its market scenario projections, raising full-year assumptions to $83 per barrel for Brent (from $70), €50 per MWh for TTF gas (from €36), and $8 per barrel for the company’s European refining margin metric (SERM, from $6).
Based on the revised scenario and performance, Gattei said Eni now estimates 2026 cash flow from operations pre-working capital of €13.8 billion, up 20% from the €11.5 billion set in March. Applying Eni’s updated distribution policy, he said the company raised its planned share buyback by around 90% to €2.8 billion, describing this as a “floor” for 2026 that would be maintained even if the scenario deteriorates. He added that if current market prices persist above the company’s deck, further increases could follow in coming quarters, and said the policy will be put to shareholders at the May 6 AGM.
Addressing questions about the timing of the buyback increase, Gattei said the market trend had shifted meaningfully since Eni’s Capital Markets Day in mid-March and that the crisis had become more prolonged and infrastructure-intensive to restart than initially expected.
Balance sheet, Plenitude deconsolidation, and working capital
Gattei said first-quarter cash flow reflected a “large negative impact” from working capital, consistent with the sharp rise in prices in March, but he said Eni expects a reversal in coming quarters. He also said CapEx was €1.9 billion, in line with a €7 billion full-year plan.
On portfolio actions, Gattei said Eni had limited activity in the quarter “beyond announcing, but not completing” the sale of a 10% stake in Baleine in Ivory Coast to SOCAR. He also said that after quarter-end, Plenitude completed the previously announced acquisition of Acea Energia for around €500 million. Eni repurchased €280 million of shares during the quarter, and Gattei said shares outstanding have fallen 17% since the end of 2021.
On Plenitude, Gattei said Eni expects the consolidation changes to close in the third quarter and that Plenitude’s funding restructuring would reduce consolidated net debt in the following quarter. He told analysts that Plenitude has €2.6 billion of net debt expected to be deconsolidated, which he said would be reduced following a capital increase in the new entity.
Operational risks: Middle East exposure, Venezuela framework, and trading plans
Brusco said Eni’s exposure to the Middle East was limited, with 3% of total production coming from the region, and said overall impact is “marginal” on production and free cash flow. He added that LNG impacts were limited due to portfolio flexibility, allowing Eni to cope with missing volumes “coming from Qatar,” and said Eni was prepared to honor product commitments to customers.
In Venezuela, Brusco said Eni signed the “Cardón IV Sustainability Agreement” to support sustainable gas production for domestic energy supply and potential debottlenecking to slightly raise volumes and enable export options tied to the Perla resource. He also cited a new general license issued by OFAC allowing operator activity and a new hydrocarbon law enacted at the end of January that he said provides a legal and fiscal framework to develop Eni’s oil assets. Asked about outstanding receivables, Brusco said mechanisms would be developed to recover past dues “within the framework of the development of the oil field,” describing it as part of a flexible, “holistic solution.”
On trading, Brusco described a multi-step plan that began by integrating trading into global natural resources to capture value-chain margins, then transforming the model toward a “marketplace.” He said Eni is seeking to improve trading “soft skills” by engaging with other trading players to combine capabilities of an oil company and a trading company, adding that the current volatility would accelerate those efforts.
About ENI NYSE: E
ENI S.p.A. is an integrated energy company headquartered in Rome, Italy, founded in 1953 as a state-established hydrocarbon entity and later transformed into a publicly traded multinational. The firm's activities span the full hydrocarbon value chain and extend into power generation and low‑carbon energy solutions. ENI maintains a long history in exploration and production, engineering and project development, and downstream operations that include refining, petrochemicals and retail fuel distribution.
Core businesses include upstream exploration and production of oil and natural gas, midstream and liquefied natural gas (LNG) handling, and downstream refining and marketing of petroleum products and lubricants.
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