Isab, 5G and more: all the moves of the Meloni government with golden power
The Meloni government intervened with golden power on the Isab deal and on 5G to insure against the Russian and Chinese presence. The Ex-Ilva issue with ArcelorMittal remains. All the details
During the Council of Ministers of 11 April, the government of Giorgia Meloni authorized the sale of the ISAB refinery in Priolo Gargallo to the Cypriot private equity company GOI Energy. The plant – one of the most important in Italy and in the entire Mediterranean region – is owned by the Russian oil company Lukoil, and is having difficulty buying the crude oil that powers its processes due to international sanctions against Russia.
THE GOVERNMENT DPCM ON ISAB
The sun 24 hours wrote that the government, through a decree (DPCM), has applied the golden power to the ISAB operation: it has not blocked the sale to GOI Energy, but has set conditions. The golden power is in fact that set of special powers to which the executive can have recourse to protect the national interest in the sectors and assets deemed strategic.
THE ASSURANCE ON GOI ENERGY AND ON TRAFIGURA
The details of the DPCM are not yet known, but the newspaper writes that the government wanted to "protect itself" on two issues: on the presence of Russian entrepreneurs or entrepreneurs linked to Russia in GOI Energy, who would not have been found; and on oil supplies, which must be multi-year and tracked.
– Read also: All about Goi Energy, the Cypriot fund that bought Isab di Priolo from Lukoil
Crude oil supplies to ISAB will be handled by Trafigura , a Swiss-Singaporean commodities trading company.
Prior to the invasion of Ukraine, Trafigura was a lead trader of oil and refined products for Russia's state-owned oil company Rosneft. With the onset of war, however, the company quickly distanced itself from Moscow, for example by selling its stake in the Vostok oil project in the Russian Arctic, which it had acquired just a year and a half earlier.
The Italian government wants Trafigura to supply oil to the ISAB refinery for a period of ten years; moreover, the barrels will have to be traced to guarantee their origin from countries not subject to various sanctions or restrictions, such as Russia itself.
WHAT HAPPENS NOW
After the government intervention, the formal transfer of ownership from Lukoil to GOI Energy should be completed in the coming weeks. The value of the operation is estimated at 1.2 billion euros.
WHAT WILL THE GOVERNMENT DO ABOUT ITALIAN STEELS
In addition to Priolo Gargallo's ISAB, the Meloni government has another complex industrial issue to manage: the future of Acciaierie d'Italia (the former ILVA), controlled by the Luxembourg steel group ArcelorMittal and by Invitalia, the investment promotion of the Ministry of Economy.
After the decree law 2/2023 had ensured Acciaierie d'Italia – through Invitalia – a liquidity of 680 million euros, the future of the company will be discussed by the government and ArcelorMittal by the end of April. The meeting of the shareholders will discuss the new business plan and the possibility that the state anticipates the passage of the majority of the capital.
THE GOLDEN POWER ON 5G
In addition to the ISAB deal, the government has also resorted to golden power in the infrastructures for 5G, the fifth generation standard for mobile telephony technologies.
In fact, on 31 March four decrees were passed to guarantee the diversification of equipment suppliers to the operators Inwit , Cellnex Italia, Fastweb and Iliad Italia, in order to reduce the presence of Chinese components in national networks.
This is a machine translation from Italian language of a post published on Start Magazine at the URL https://www.startmag.it/economia/governo-meloni-golden-power-isab-5g/ on Wed, 12 Apr 2023 09:27:02 +0000.