MILAN (Reuters) – Italian refiner Saras (SRS.MI: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) and Russian partner Rosneft (ROSN.MM: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) are eying the petrol station network that oil major Royal Dutch Shell (RDSa.L: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) is mulling selling in Italy, a Saras executive said on Wednesday.

“I think they (Rosneft) are probably going to take a look and we hope to be able to cooperate with them,” Saras Managing Director Dario Scaffardi said in a conference call after the company reported core earnings of 48.2 million euros ($62.56 million) in the first quarter.

MILAN, May 9 (Reuters) – Italian oil and gas group Eni
made 1.45 billion euros ($1.9 billion) from the sale of
an 11.69 percent stake in Snam on Thursday, paving the
way for its exit from the gas transport company.

The world’s No.7 oil company by production is selling
non-core assets as it focuses on more lucrative exploration and
production business.

MILAN, May 7 (Reuters) – Telecom Italia’s board is
likely to put off making a decision this week on whether to open
formal merger talks with Hutchison Whampoa, as key
shareholders are divided on the issue, sources with knowledge of
the situation said.

The board is due to meet on Wednesday to consider the latest
financial results and to hear from a panel of directors that was
set up last month to determine whether it should pursue a
proposal to acquire Hutchison’s Italian mobile business and for
Hutchison to take a near 30 percent stake in Telecom Italia.

MILAN, April 15 (Reuters) – Russia’s biggest oil producer
Rosneft has agreed to take a stake of up to 21 percent
in Italian refiner Saras in a move that will strengthen
its commitment to the Mediterranean area.

The deal follows an agreement at the end of last year for
the two companies to form a joint venture for trading and
processing crude oil and selling refined products.

MILAN, April 4 (Reuters) – A number of oil companies
operating in Italy artificially boosted the price of gasoline at
the pump through intra-company deals, Italian tax police said on
Thursday .

In a statement, police said an investigation into the
reasons for a steep rise in petrol prices in Italy uncovered
“the existence of a fraudulent increase in the price of fuel
through speculative dealings that have damaged consumers.”

MILAN, April 4 (Reuters) – Shares in Telecom Italia
(TLIT.MI: Quote, Profile, Research) surged after reports the debt-laden Italian telecoms
company could discuss merging with Hutchison Whampoa’s (0013.HK: Quote, Profile, Research)
Italian wireless unit H3G at next week’s board meeting.

“There’s a report that Telecom is considering a possible
merger with H3G,” a Milan trader said.

MILAN, March 21 (Reuters) – Mediolanum, one of
Italy’s largest asset managers, will post a lower net profit
this year after income made from putting to use cheap European
Central Bank money helped lift the group’s 2012 result to a
record high, it said.

Mediolanum said its net profit in 2012 rose more than
five-fold to a record 351 million euros ($454 million). The
result was boosted by management and performance fees, asset
revaluations and carry-trade profit using ECB liquidity.

RAVENNA, Italy, March 20 (Reuters) – OPEC member Iraq’s
fifth licensing round for oil exploration will be held in the
next few months and will come from 10 oil blocks, its oil
minister said on Wednesday.

Iraq, which has some of the world’s largest oil reserves, is
pushing hard to develop the industry, shattered by years of war
and instability.

MILAN, March 14 (Reuters) – Italian oil and gas major Eni
opened up Mozambique’s gas riches to China on Thursday
when it agreed to sell a 20 percent stake in its giant
Mozambique gas field to China National Petroleum Corporation for
$4.21 billion.

The deal, still subject to approval by Mozambique
authorities, will leave Eni with a 50 percent stake in the field
which is the Italian company’s biggest ever gas discovery.

MILAN, March 13 (Reuters) – Italy’s biggest utility Enel
plans to sell 6 billion euros ($7.8 billion) of assets
and cut costs to reduce debt after southern Europe’s economic
slump forced a dramatic reduction in its profit outlook.

Enel is one of Europe’s most indebted utilities, but it is
by no means alone in its struggle against undermined power
demand, squeezed margins, EU-driven energy efficiency measures
and greater use of renewable energy.