The Books

History of Energy in Italy (Eni-Mattei)

QUANDO MATTEI ERA L'IMPRESA ENERGETICA
Io c'ero
Giuseppe Accorinti, Hacca, Matelica (MC), 2006

What distinguishes this book form the many biographies of the founder of Eni, is that it is written by someone who was actually there and knew Mattei, working with him at the company and knew as a captain of industry and a manager, but also as a man who, on a daily basis, helped and supported his staff and pushed them by example. In the words of Giuseppe Accorinti, a former chief executive of Agip Petroli, with forty years of experience at Eni, Mattei "was involved and took part in our work, much like a foreman in a workshop, he was a lead worker."

IMPRESA E CULTURA
L'utopia dell'Eni
Claudio Corduas, Bruno Mondatori, 2006

Compared with previous histories of Eni this book looks at the cultural values that the company and its founder, Enrico Mattei, represent. In particular, it examines Mattei's challenge, one based on an economic and social commitment, drawing inspiration from both religion and labour rights, and a conception of economic growth and relations between unions and business. A relationship that was, in many respects, "revolutionary" in the context of Italy in the fifties and sixties and the Cold War. Claudio Corduas is a former manager of ASAP, the union of state-owned oil company, and Agip Petroli. His other publications include " Nascita e trasformazione d'impresa. Storia dell'Agip Petroli ", (Giulio Sapelli et al., il Mulino, Bologna 1993).

ENRICO MATTEI: ASSALTO AL POTERE PETROLIFERO MONDIALE
Giovanni Buccianti, Giuffrè, 2005

This book looks at a central figure of recent Italian history, Enrico Mattei, a leading figure in the political and economic life of the country. While being as involving and enjoyable as a novel, the book has all the characteristics of an historical study. In fact, it is based on research into historical archives, both in Italy and abroad, and on interviews with business and political figures from the period. The complex events of the era are clearly analysed and what emerges is a complete and realistic picture of Mattei.

PETROLIO E POLITICA. MATTEI IN MAROCCO
Bruna Bagnato, Polistampa, 2004

Enrico Mattei in Morocco is the theme of this book that examines in detail the events in which the Italian businessman introduced a new foreign policy, after the tough years that followed the Second World War. As well as Mattei, who played a key role in these events, politicians such as Fanfani, Gronchi, La Pira also emerge. And what appears very clearly is the ability of the founder of Eni to impose a new approach by Italy that was singularly effective for countries emerging from the experience of colonialism.

PROVE DI OSTPOLITIK
Politica ed economia nella strategia italiana verso l'Unione Sovietica 1958-1963
Bruna Bagnato, Olschki, 2003

The author reconstructs the relations between Italy and the Soviet Union from the end of the fifties to the beginning of the following decade. These were the years of the Cold War, a period in which economic interest were of fundamental importance for the political decisions adopted by Italy in its dealings with the USSR and, consequently, for the evolution of relations between the two countries. A period in which the main players were personalities like Gronchi, Mattei, La Pira and Pietromarchi. The study is based of detailed research in both public and private archives.

ENI 1953 – 2003
edited by Alberto Clô, Editrice Compositori, 2004

This book brings together articles that appeared in 2003 in the magazines "Energia" and "Eni's Way" on the occasion of the duel celebration of Eni's fiftieth anniversary and forty years since the death of its founder, Enrico Mattei. The collection, which includes essays by managers, scholars and political and cultural personalities, analyses the history of Eni since its foundation and its role in the Italian economy.
It looks at the creation of the company and the first years of its development, expansion, periods of crisis, the failed attempt to create a national chemical industry, the restructuring that resulted from privatisation and the sale of numerous non strategic business, right up to the current phase of reinforcement and marked growth.
The book is completed by two documentary sections. The first, which is statistical, provides scholars with Eni's historical data since its foundation: hydrocarbon reserves, number of wells, oil production, the refining and marketing of petroleum products methane availability, methane sales by sector of use. The second, which is bibliographical, contains a list of the main writings about Eni, the figure of Enrico Mattei and the experience as a state-owned company.

L'ITALIA E IL PETROLIO TRA STORIA E CRONOLOGIA
Manlio Magini, Milano, Mondadori, 1976

This book reviews the history of petroleum in Italy as an energy source and, more in general, as a raw material employed in industrial production (especially in the petrochemical industry). The period considered runs from the dawn of the industrial petroleum market (in the second half of the 19th century) up through the mid-1970s. The focus of the volume, however, is on the most recent period: almost two-thirds of the work is devoted to the thirty years following the Second World War and, in particular, to the role of Eni in developing energy and petrochemical production in Italy.

LA POLITICA PETROLIFERA ITALIANA
Luigi Bruni, Marcello Colitti, Milano, Giuffrè, 1967

In this volume the authors describe and analyse Italian oil policy from its very beginnings up through the mid-1960s. After starting with a concise but highly effective review of the main technical considerations involved in the exploitation of hydrocarbons as a source of energy, the book examines the various phases of oil policy and, more in general, of Italian energy policy, beginning from the situation at the end of the 19th century, when a shortage of coal began to pose a serious obstacle to industrial development. The authors focus on the fact that Italy's two most significant phases of economic growth—from the end of the last century to 1914 and from 1950 to 1963—were both accompanied by the development of new sources of energy produced domestically at conditions equal to or better than those found in other countries (hydroelectric energy during the first period and methane during the second), all of which demonstrates the close link between energy policy and economic development. The authors also highlight the way in which the development of hydrocarbons as a source of energy in the 20th century has benefited Italy, which is geographically located on the "petroleum route" (whereas, earlier, it had been in a peripheral position compared to the major coal/steel-producing centres of the Ruhr). Italy, therefore, got off to a considerable head-start over the other industrialised countries when it came to replacing coal with oil. The policy followed, the instruments adopted and the successes achieved, as well as the inevitable errors committed, are discussed in detail (including certain legislative and administrative considerations) as part of an analysis which still proves to be, from more than one perspective, of relevance.

ALLE ORIGINI DELLA POLITICA PETROLIFERA ITALIANA (1920-1925)
Matteo Pizzigallo, Milano, Giuffrè, 1981

In this initial volume of a trilogy on Italian oil policy between the two world wars, Matteo Pizzigallo (a professor specialised in the history of industrial relations) covers the period that precedes the creation of AGIP, a time in which oil consumption accounted for less than 4 percent of Italy's total energy needs. The volume begins with an analysis of the Italian energy situation at the end of the First World War, going on to describe the changes in energy policy in general, and in oil policy in particular, after Mussolini took power in 1922. Particular attention is focused on the ties between the oil policy and the foreign policy followed during this period by Mussolini, including initiatives involving Romania, Poland, Albania and Mexico, as well as the refinery in the city of Fiume.

L'AGIP DEGLI ANNI RUGGENTI (1926-1932)
Matteo Pizzigallo, Milano, Giuffrè, 1984

This second volume of Pizzigallo's trilogy on Italian oil policy addresses the period immediately following the foundation of Agip in 1926. Designed by the then Minister of the Treasury, Guseppe Volpi, in part to serve as an instrument of parallel diplomacy for the promotion and support of Italy's political and economic penetration, especially in the Danube-Balkans area, Agip rapidly demonstrated a noteworthy capacity for manoeuvring on the international scene. In its first few years of operation, Agip identified a policy of direct agreements with producing countries as the chief objective for the Italian oil sector, which, despite the obstacles placed in its path by the immeasurably richer and more powerful foreign companies, successfully achieved a number of major coups, culminating with the purchase of a major holding in the British Oil Development Co., a company that, in 1932, obtained an oil-drilling concession in Iraq.

LA POLITICA ESTERA DELL'AGIP (1933-1940)
Matteo Pizzigallo, Milano, Giuffrè; 1992

The third volume of Pizzigallo's work on Italian oil policy focuses on the seven years preceding Italy's entry into the Second World War. During this period, in contrast to the majority of Italian businesses, which became increasingly "lazy" and were constantly on the lookout for increased privileges and protective measures, Agip undertook intensive international operations, the chief characteristics of which are described by the author. Of particular interest are the sections on Agip's activities in the Italian colonies (both in Libya and in East Africa). The volume also throws light on the recurring interference from government circles, which attempted to influence, based on criteria of politics and propaganda, the countries towards which Agip directed its efforts, a situation that often forced the company to make costly sacrifices and to perform tasks that were not its own. As in the case of the previous volumes, the work is accompanied by an extensive collection of texts and documents, many of them never before published.

UNO SVILUPPO TRA POLITICA E STRATEGIA
Eni (1953 – 1985)
Giulio Sapelli Francesca Carnevali, Milano, FrancoAngeli, 1992

This book by Giulio Sapelli (a professor of economic history at the University of Milan) and Francesca Carnevali (a scholar of economic history) describes the complex relations between the world of politics and the strategies of Eni from its foundation through the mid-1980s. The authors hold that the history of Eni demonstrates the complexity of relations between the State and public-sector enterprises, a situation which, at times, has allowed the managements of these enterprises not only to establish direct contact with the political sphere, but also to exercise a power of transformation and influence in that sector. The analysis put forth also points to a further, extremely significant consideration: despite the vetoes, burdens, tasks and constraints which the world of politics has placed on the Eni Group, the later has continued to base its development on a primarily business strategy, remaining, for all intents and purposes, faithful to its original calling.

NASCITA E TRASFORMAZIONE D'IMPRESA
Storia dell'Agip Petroli
G. Sapelli, L. Orsenigo, P.A. Toninelli, C. Corduas, Bologna, Il Mulino, 1993

The volume, written by experts in economic history, reviews the story of the Agip Petroli company, placing it in the more general context of the evolution of the international oil market and the Italian energy sector. The authors centre their reconstruction around the dynamics of technology, the accumulation of business capacity, the formation of a corporate culture and industrial relations. The result is an overview of a public enterprise that takes a unique approach, showing that, rather than the ownership structure, it was the company's orientation towards the market, as well as its capacity to implement innovative policies while resisting pressures unrelated to the logic of production, that proved to be the key factor in its growth.

ENERGIA E SVILUPPO IN ITALIA
La vicenda di Enrico Mattei
Marcello Colitti, Bari, De Donato, 1979

In this book, Marcello Colitti, who held a variety of positions in the Eni Group between the mid-1950s and the end of the 90s, proposes not only an original biography of Enrico Mattei, but also a reconstruction of how the "energy issue" was addressed in Italy from the early post-war years onward. The topics covered, which were the focus of Mattei's life, are highly relevant today as well: the energy problem, the supply of raw materials, the relations between producing countries, consuming countries and multinational corporations, the creation of major enterprises in which the State possesses a holding, state intervention in the economy, the clash with private interests, the relationship with political power and the establishment of a ‘government bloc' capable of reuniting the public and private sectors in a synthesis of power, both political and economic.

L'ARMA DEL PETROLIO
Questione petrolifera globale, guerra fredda e politica italiana nella vicenda di Enrico Mattei
Leonardo Maugeri, Firenze, Loggia de' Lanzi, 1994

In this book, which is based on rigorous documentation taken from the archives, Leonardo Maugeri, Eni's Senior Vice President of Strategies and Development, reconstructs the story of Mattei and Eni, setting it against the backdrop of the oil-related issues brought to the fore by the Cold War, by the reconstruction of Europe, and by the rise of nationalism in the Middle East. The author plays down the "predatory" role of the multinational oil corporations (the so-called "seven sisters"), their ties to American foreign policy and the attitude of the US government towards Mattei. As a result, a number of previously unknown circumstances are brought to light: Eisenhower's refusal to stop Mattei, even at the most virulent point in his campaign, the ongoing attempts on the part of the Italian oil-industry leader to obtain political recognition from the USA, in exchange for desisting from his activities as a spoiler; the intrinsic fragility of Eni, the real reason why Mattei was relegated to the margins of the international scene, and the power he acquired in Italian political circles, which led to the secret negotiations with the Esso company, promoted by the Kennedy administration in order to win over Mattei as an ally in the delicate dealings regarding Italy's centre-left political coalition.