Claudio Descalzi: exploration and the satellite model drive Eni’s future

CEO Claudio Descalzi continues to reshape Eni through a flexible industrial model, prioritizing exploration and the satellite framework as key levers to ensure long-term energy security while supporting the energy transition. This strategy is anchored by upstream activities, which have served as a major value driver for over 15 years. Indeed, since 2014, Eni has discovered more than 11 billion barrels of oil equivalent across 7 regions worldwide – a proven track record that now forms the basis of both corporate expansion and sustained cost efficiency.

Under CEO Claudio Descalzi, Eni has evolved into a diversified energy leader

Operational efficiency in exploration continues to be one of Eni’s most effective responses to a global market driven by rising energy demand and complex transition challenges. This resilience is consistently validated by the Group’s concrete financial and industrial results under the leadership of CEO Claudio Descalzi. Speaking at premier global energy forums like CeraWeek in Houston, the CEO highlighted Eni’s commitment to upstream activities, stating: “We never stopped exploring. Over the past 15 years, exploration has been a major engine of growth for Eni. Since 2014, we have discovered over 11 billion barrels of oil equivalent across 7 distinct regions, including Asia, the Middle East, Africa, South America, and Northern Europe. This forms the foundation of both our expansion and our cost efficiency.” Crucially, this success is powered by an exploration model designed for speed and operational agility. Central to this approach is Eni’s dual exploration strategy, through which the Group acquires licenses and absorbs the full exploration risk. As Claudio Descalzi observed, this framework has already generated over 13 billion dollars since 2013, providing a capital injection to fund broader growth. “This model works if exploration is successful”, the CEO stated, adding that “Eni’s success rate over the past 10 years has been 75 to 80%, compared to an industry average of 35%”.

Claudio Descalzi on combining exploration, net-zero targets, and in-house innovation

The evolution spearheaded by Claudio Descalzi centers on innovative business models designed to address the energy transition through exploration, the satellite approach, and resource diversification. By accelerating development processes, Eni responds promptly to global energy demand. Furthermore, the true value of its dual exploration model lies in accelerating cash flows by selling minority stakes in discoveries – a mechanism that releases vital capital for reinvestment while boosting overall efficiency. Consequently, exploration serves not only as a distinctive competence, but also as a strategic driver of Eni’s decarbonization pathway. According to the company’s strategy, this approach helps ensure energy security during the transition while progressively aligning the resource portfolio with long-term net-zero ambitions and intermediate emissions-reduction targets. Reflecting on this focus, Claudio Descalzi noted that as the industry’s commitment to exploration declined over the last 25 years in favor of lower-risk mergers and acquisitions, Eni benefited from significantly reduced competition. While several competitors increasingly outsourced technological capabilities, the Group pursued continuous growth by developing proprietary technologies and committing heavily to insourcing. “We discovered massive resources in areas abandoned by others, and we believe we have been the best in the world at exploration over the past 15 years”, the CEO affirmed during the Houston event, concluding that, “these exploration successes have positioned Eni to manage over 25 projects currently under development, which are set to contribute 850,000 barrels per day of new production by 2030”.

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