Mercuria, a commodities trader, forms joint venture with Eni, an Italian major

The Swiss commodities 'trading house Mercuria' and the Italian oil and gas -major Eni - have agreed to form a joint venture.

Mercuria announced that the 50:50 joint-venture will be run from its headquarters in Geneva. It will trade crude oil and refined fuels as well as biofuels and gas.

Mercuria's strategy to seek partnerships that increase market access and integrate with physical markets led it to link the venture with Eni. Stefano Pujatti said that Eni wants to expand its trading footprint through the joint venture and create long-term value by focusing on operational efficiency and risk management. Eni also said that it wanted to increase cash flow from increased trading and improve its asset management by partnering with the joint venture.

In a statement, Mercuria Chief Executive Officer Marco Dunand said that the integration of physical flows of energy with logistics and risk management would allow the venture to maximize value throughout the supply chain. Mercuria has signed two joint ventures this year. In February, it agreed to launch a trading division with Indian trading group Tata International. Due to the increased volatility of international energy markets caused by Russia's invasion in Ukraine in 2022, and?this year’s Iran -war?, oil companies are now more interested in trading energy than producing it.

Eni has already acquired a 20% stake in ADNOC Global Trading of the UAE, along with?co-owners ADNOC Austrian and OMV. TotalEnergies, the French oil major, agreed to a deal this year with Bahrain's BAPCO in order to form a Middle East trading venture. Mercuria's Chief Financial Officer Guillaume Vermersch said that the company made a net profit of $1.43billion in 2025. This is up from $1.52billion in 2024, and a record $3billion in 2022. (Reporting and editing by Robert Harvey, Giulia Segriti; Barbara Lewis)

(source: Reuters)