Franco Magnani has stepped down as chief executive of Eni Trading and Shipping (ETS) to take another senior position within the Italian energy conglomerate.
On the sidelines of an IP Week event, Magnani confirmed to reporters he has assumed the role of executive vice-president B2B sale at Eni after leaving the London-based subsidiary in December.
Based in Milan, Magnani now oversees Eni’s piped gas supply to European business customers.
Formerly a McKinsey partner, Magnani joined Eni to create ETS in 2007 to streamline the trading and shipping operations among group firms.
ETS has since grown to become one of the largest European charterers for oil and gas carriers, with operations in London, Brussels, Singapore, Rome and Houston.
Magnani, who has degrees in engineering and business administration, left ETS in 2010 for several upstream positions with Eni before returning to head the subsidiary again in 2015.
Before his latest departure, Eni sold its two remaining LNG carriers to MISC in November. The Malaysian state carrier then chartered the 65,000-cbm LNG Portovenere (built 1997) and LNG Lerici (built 1998) back to Eni for $133m.
“That was a very specific decision. These were two legacy ships,” Magnani said.
According to company reports, Eni has integrated its LNG marketing business with upstream operations across the globe, with a portfolio of contracted volume set to reach 14 million tonnes per annum by 2025.
“Our LNG portfolio is growing very fast…they (the supply contracts) will involve their own shipping requirement and [Eni] will tackle them with appropriate means,” Magnani said.
“We will maintain our capability to operate as a charterer.”
Separately, Magnani said Eni does not expect Brexit to have a major impact on its trading of crude, refined products, LNG and power handled by ETS.
“We expect the operation to go on as usual,” he said.
