Italian energy firm Eni and Swiss trading house Mercuria have formally announced an agreement to establish a jointly owned global energy trading venture. This 50/50 joint venture will operate independently under a holding structure, headquartered in Geneva, with additional international trading hubs to establish a truly global platform for energy markets.
The new venture is designed to integrate Mercuria’s extensive global trading expertise, market intelligence, and risk management capabilities with Eni’s deep knowledge of upstream, midstream, and downstream assets. This synergy aims to optimize physical energy flows, strengthen access to global markets, and enhance the commercialization and trading activities across a broad spectrum of energy commodities, including oil, biofuels, natural gas, LNG, LPG, and associated logistics and infrastructure.
According to Marco Dunand, CEO of Mercuria, this partnership will create a more agile and efficient platform by integrating physical energy flows with world-class trading, logistics, and risk management. This move is expected to improve supply chain flexibility, strengthen resilience, and unlock additional value across the energy value chain, better positioning the combined entity to serve customers and navigate dynamic global energy markets. The transaction is still subject to customary regulatory approvals and other closing conditions.
The partnership also comes as energy traders are seeking to capitalize on the substantial profits generated by competitors like Vitol and Trafigura, who have seen strong earnings from energy trading amidst recent supply disruptions and price swings. By combining forces, Eni and Mercuria aim to strengthen their positions in physical trading and risk management across oil, gas, and power markets, enabling Eni to compete more directly for market share in European and global commodity flows. This collaboration highlights how traditional oil companies are adapting to market volatility by partnering with specialized traders rather than relying solely on internal trading desks.
