Eni and Mercuria Form 50:50 Global Energy Trading Venture in Geneva, Covering Oil, LNG and Gas from 2027

Eni and Mercuria have signed an agreement to establish a jointly owned global energy trading venture on a 50:50 basis. The new entity will be headquartered in Geneva and operate through international trading hubs, combining Eni's upstream, midstream, and downstream asset positions with Mercuria's global trading infrastructure and risk management capabilities. Completion remains subject to regulatory approvals, with operations expected to begin in 2027.

What the JV Will Trade

The joint venture will oversee selected commercialization and trading activities across crude oil, refined petroleum products, biofuels, natural gas, LNG, LPG, and associated logistics and infrastructure rights. By consolidating those activities into a single independently operated entity, both partners intend to optimize physical energy flows across the supply chain. Marco Dunand, CEO of Mercuria, said the venture brings together two highly complementary organizations with a shared long-term vision for energy markets. Stefano Pujatti, Eni's Director of Global Trading, said the strategic aim is to expand Eni's trading footprint, enhance profitability for both partners, and generate long-term value through operational efficiency and risk management.

What Eni Brings: African LNG and Upstream Asset Knowledge

Eni's core contribution is access to its upstream production base and the physical supply chains attached to it. The Italian major has built one of the world's most LNG-intensive upstream portfolios through three floating LNG projects in Africa. Coral South FLNG, offshore Mozambique in the Rovuma Basin, has been operational since October 2022 with a capacity of 2.4 million tonnes per year. Coral North FLNG, a second Rovuma vessel with a 3.6 MTPA capacity, launched its hull in South Korea in January 2026 and targets commissioning by 2028. Eni's Nguya FLNG vessel delivered the first cargo from Congo LNG Phase 2 in February 2026.

When both Mozambique FLNG vessels reach full output, Eni's Rovuma position alone will produce up to 6 million tonnes of LNG per year. Routing those volumes to premium Asian or European buyers, rather than accepting spot exposure, is precisely the optimization function the new JV is designed to perform. At Henry Hub gas prices of $3.21 per MMBtu on July 1, per OilPrice.com, the spread between US-linked LNG export economics and European or Asian premium markets remains significant for long-term contract holders.

What Mercuria Brings: Global Trading Infrastructure

Mercuria was founded in 2004 by Marco Dunand and Daniel Jaeggi, both veterans of Goldman Sachs's commodity trading unit. The firm has grown into one of the world's five largest independent energy trading houses, managing physical trading, logistics, and risk management across oil, gas, metals, and agricultural commodities. By partnering with Eni, Mercuria gains access to long-term African LNG supply chains and the physical optimization data that comes with being tied to upstream operations. In turn, Eni gains the market intelligence, counterparty network, and logistics capabilities that major trading houses have built over decades.

Context: Integrated Majors Race to Build Trading Scale

The Eni-Mercuria structure echoes a broader trend of integrated oil companies using trading partnerships to close the gap with dedicated trading houses. Shell's proprietary trading division consistently generates billions of dollars in annual profit from physical arbitrage and flow optimization. TotalEnergies has similarly built one of the world's largest LNG trading portfolios, co-located with its upstream equity positions in Qatar, Papua New Guinea, and East Africa. Eni lacked that scale, and partnering with Mercuria offers a faster, less capital-intensive path than organic build-out. The 50:50 structure avoids either partner dominating operational decisions and, because the JV will be unconsolidated, neither company's balance sheet carries the entity's full trading book.

The new venture will compete directly with independent trading houses such as Vitol, Trafigura, and Gunvor for physical LNG and oil market share. It enters the market during a period of significant oil price softness: Brent crude futures were trading at $71.82 per barrel in early Tuesday trading on ICE, per OilPrice.com, down from the Hormuz-closure highs above $125 earlier in 2026. Lower oil prices reduce the scale of each physical trade but increase the relative importance of optimization and logistics efficiency, precisely the capabilities the JV is designed to sharpen.