Our environmental interventions in Gela

In the Gela site we have laid the foundations of our circular project for the regeneration of the areas.

Gela, our commitment towards site requalification

Our remediation and valorisation activities for the Gela site are part of Eni’s plan to relaunch an area with an important industrial history. It is here that Anic, in the early 1960s, built the first plants for refining the oil discovered in the Gela subsoil. The environmental interventions began in 1999 and since 2003 have been managed by Eni Rewind. In the site, we also operate on behalf of Versalis, Enimed and Biorefinery of Gela. We are currently owners of 21 hectares of land, holders of the remediation costs for the former Anic areas and managers for the environmental activities of the Industria Siciliana Acido Fosforico (Sicilian Phosphoric Acid Industry - Isaf) distributed between Island 9 (3 hectares) and the former phosphogypsum landfill (52 hectares). The authorised interventions, some of which already completed, included emergency and permanent safety measures, the remediation of soil and groundwater and the decommissioning of plants, warehouses and buildings, including the dismantling activities covered by the Memorandum of Understanding signed in 2019. As of 31 December 2024, we have incurred environmental costs amounting to €213 million for our areas, in addition to €136 million allocated for the interventions in the Isaf areas.

Gela: key elements

A site in transition: from a historic petrochemical hub to a laboratory for innovation, technology and the sustainable development of the territory.

Gela’s relaunch

The relaunch of Eni's presence in Gela in a circular way focuses on the reconversion of the refinery into a biorefinery, on remediation activities and the development of renewable energy.

Remediation and innovation

From the e-hyrec® technology that removes supernatant from the aquifer to passive sampling on polyethylene sheets: in Gela we deploy the most innovative solutions, as developed by Eni research.

Water preservation

At the Gela site, we manage groundwater treatment, as well as industrial and urban wastewater from the territory.

Gela at a glance

Location: Italy, Sicily

Start of the environmental interventions: 1999

Gela past and present

Site history.

Enichem begun the site remediation process

Enichem begun the environmental remediation of Gela which in 2000 became a Site of National Priority by ministerial decree.

Enichem main shareholder

In the early 1990s some productions were stopped and, after the failed Enimont operation, the shares of Isaf, Montedison and Anic were merged into Enichem which became the majority shareholder.

Increase of the productive assets

Addition of the cracking, high-density polyethylene and the chlorine and derivatives cycle industrial assets

Isaf production activities start-up

Between 1967 and 1968 Isaf, owned by Ente Minerario Siciliano (48%) with Anic (26%) and Montedison (26%), launched the complex fertiliser, sulfuric acid and acrylonitrile plants.

Establishment of the Gela industrial site

The origins of the Gela site date back to 1960 when the petrochemical plant was built.

Our activities in Gela

The environmental interventions authorised for the Gela site and in part already completed, comprised emergency and permanent safety measures, soil and water remediation, and the demolition of plants, warehouses and buildings. With regards to soil, environmental interventions have been ongoing on Islands 2, 6, 9 and 17 since 2018. Between 2021 and 2022, we have completed the permanent safety measures of Island 1. On the Isaf areas, in 2012 permanent safety measures of the former phosphogypsum Isaf landfill, which currently hosts a 5MW photovoltaic plant for the production of renewable energy, were carried out, and the activities for the emptying and dismantling of the former phosphoric acid plant, the decanter and the tank farm in Island 9 are ongoing.

On the multi-company site, we are also in charge of groundwater remediation activities through the pumping and treatment of water as well as the application of a combination of innovative technologies tailored for the complexity of the site, which include the e-hyrec device and ground circulation wells. Since 2014, a monitoring Protocol for hydraulic efficiency and hydrochemical effectiveness, approved by the authorities, is in use. On the decommissioning front, we have completed the demolition of the Acrylonitrile plant (Island 17) and have started the operations on the warehouses and buildings on Island 6, also named former Agricoltura. In addition, for Gela Refinery we manage the dismantling of the decommissioned plants linked to the traditional refining process.

Gela Decommissioning video

A concrete plan for the relaunch of the site

The relaunch of Eni's activities and its presence in Gela in a sustainable and circular way focuses on the reconversion of the traditional cycle refinery into a biorefinery, in the implementation of remediation interventions and in the development of renewable energy. This intention led, in November 2014, to the signing of the Memorandum of Understanding between the ministry of Economic Development, the Region of Sicily, the Municipality of Gela, trade unions, Confindustria and Eni with its subsidiaries. Moreover, as part of the Memorandum of Understanding signed in 2019 between Eni and the ministry of the Environment, we are carrying out the decommissioning of the disused plants related to the traditional refining process, ensuring the full recovery of scrap metal, engines and electrical cables. The decommissioning activities will be completed by 2029 as envisaged in the Memorandum of Understanding.

The innovation for remediation

In Gela, we are deploying innovative technologies, created and developed in Eni's research laboratories, to optimise soil and groundwater remediation. We have tested passive sampling on soil, a monitoring methodology that has enabled to evaluate the leaching of contaminants from soil to groundwater and their volatilisation from soil to surfaces. The e-hyrec devices are also operating to selectively remove from the aquifer only the hydrocarbon constituent, avoiding the extraction of valuable water resources.

Water resources management

In Gela, we manage the groundwater treatment plant (flow rate 300 m³/h) with an associated pre-treatment plant, the so called “Taffino” (flow rate 8 m³/h), for the water coming from islands 1 and 2, and the wastewater treatment plant (flow rate 1200 m³/h) owned by Eni, which treats wastewater from the multi-company site and the leachate from the Timpazzo municipal landfill, as well as that from the refinery landfills. We also run the Urban Biological (400 m³/h) and Industrial Biological (1200 m³/h) plants, owned by the Sicily Region, for the purification of civil and industrial wastewater from the area.

Status of the environmental process

The administrative procedure for environmental interventions in the areas we own led to the issuance of ministerial decrees for all the remediation projects presented.