Total and ERG have signed an agreement to create a joint venture in the Italian marketing and refining business.
The shareholder pact calls for joint governance as well as operating independence for the new entity.
Total and Erg will hold equity stakes of, respectively, 49% and 51%.
Created through the merger of Total Italia and ERG Petroli, the joint venture will be called TotalErg and will operate under both the Total and ERG brands.
TotalErg will enjoy solid competitive positioning thanks to the integration of its two partners’ assets and expertise.
TotalErg will become one of the largest marketing operators in Italy, with a retail market share of nearly 13% and over 3,400 service stations. Fuel sales will exceed 3.4 million metric tons per year, while general retail and specialties business sales will amount to roughly 3.2 million metric tons per year, with significant market shares in diesel, lubricants, LPG and bitumen.
The joint venture will also be active in the refining business, with a total continental capacity of roughly 116,000 barrels per day or around 8% of national demand. TotalErg will optimize its industrial assets in this segment with a priority focus on achieving excellence in its industrial, environmental and safety performance. The joint venture will also operate its shareholders’ logistics infrastructure.
TotalErg will not consolidate either Total Italia's aviation and AS 24 payment card operations or ERG Petroli's refining and marketing operations in Sicily.
The transaction will be submitted to competition authorities for approval. Until then, Total Italia and ERG Petroli will remain as separate, competing entities.