“For Sarath, delisting can wait, for Vito, delisting will have an international scope”

We have another “sub” company, in this case a joint venture with Carlyle, called Varo Energy, based in Switzerland, but also operating in Germany and the Netherlands: it’s not quite the same business as Saras, but it’s very similar. Here we are implementing a fairly advanced energy transition strategy, which includes building biofuel plants for aircraft made from waste. I’m not talking to you about what we will do at Saras, it’s too early to tell. But this is just one example, and I could give you many more examples of how we generally adapt our business to continue to thrive in changing market conditions.

The fact remains that the refining business is very difficult today, especially in Europe, where margins are collapsing again and more plants are expected to be forced to close. Aren’t you worried?

Good question. Indeed, after a golden moment in 2022-2023 related to the war in Ukraine, margins are falling again and there have been some negative signs in the sector lately through the results of major oil companies such as BP. Shell’s announcement This stopped the construction of biorefineries. Perhaps it is not an “unfortunate” industry, as the Financial Times wrote a few days ago, but the refining market is undoubtedly a volatile one and has been historically so. However, we believe we are capable of managing volatility and we are comfortable and credible in risk management: it is our job.

The last question is about another deal in Italy: the purchase of control of the Rovigo regasification terminal by VTTI. Is there any particular reason why you are interested in our country?

In fact, we are buying two plants in Italy. But I would say that this is a coincidence and the two decisions are not connected: we did not decide to go to your country to look for assets. VTTI has been working on a LNG strategy for 2-3 years, which includes acquisitions in this sector. He has already made two such deals, one in the UK and one in Italy, and he is just following this strategy. However, it is good to have assets in Italy, which is a country with a stable situation from a business point of view.