Italiana Petroli S.p.A. (until 2019 Anonima Petroli Italiana S.p.A.), also known by the acronym API or Gruppo API, is an Italian oil and energy

company A company, abbreviated as co., is a Legal personality, legal entity representing an association of people, whether Natural person, natural, Legal person, legal or a mixture of both, with a specific objective. Company members share a common p ...

headquartered in Rome. It is active in the

fuel A fuel is any material that can be made to react with other substances so that it releases energy as thermal energy or to be used for work. The concept was originally applied solely to those materials capable of releasing chemical energy but ...

and mobility services sector through the IP Gruppo API brand. It is a

subsidiary A subsidiary, subsidiary company or daughter company is a company owned or controlled by another company, which is called the parent company or holding company. Two or more subsidiaries that either belong to the same parent company or having a s ...

of API Holding, 100% owned by the Brachetti Peretti family. The president of API is

Ugo Brachetti Peretti Ugo Maria Brachetti Peretti (born July 8, 1965, Rome) is an Italian oil executive, chairman of the API group since 2007. Family His father, Count Aldo Maria Brachetti Peretti, Cavaliere Del Lavoro was the head of the family group, Anonima Pet ...

and the

CEO A chief executive officer (CEO), also known as a central executive officer (CEO), chief administrator officer (CAO) or just chief executive (CE), is one of a number of corporate executives charged with the management of an organization especially ...

is Alberto Chiarini. In 2018 the company totaled €6.8 billion in

turnover Turnover or turn over may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media *''Turn Over'', a 1988 live album by Japanese band Show-Ya * Turnover (band), an American rock band *"Turnover", a song on Fugazi's 1990 album '' Repeater'' *''Turnover'', a Japane ...

and €63.1 million in operating profit.

History

Anonima Petroli Italiana (API) was founded in Ancona in 1933 by Ferdinando Peretti. It operates as a strategic coordinator of all API group's activities, through the direct supplying of semi-finished

crude oil Petroleum, also known as crude oil, or simply oil, is a naturally occurring yellowish-black liquid mixture of mainly hydrocarbons, and is found in geological formations. The name ''petroleum'' covers both naturally occurring unprocessed crude ...

and assigned in the production, the acquisition of finished products and their transport, the exchanges with other oil companies to optimize the distributive logistics, the complementary activity of trading of crude oil and by-products to clients, and the sale of all the by-products in Italy and to foreign countries. It also is dedicated to operate and develop oil and gas field properties. It owns a refinery in Ancona with a capacity of 3.9 million tonnes/year and an electric power plant of 250 MW. In 2005, the

acquired Italiana Petroli (IP) from Agip (

Eni Eni S.p.A. () is an Italian multinational energy company headquartered in Rome. Considered one of the seven "supermajor" oil companies in the world, it has operations in 69 countries with a market capitalization of US$54.08 billion, as of 11 Ap ...

). After a few years running the chains in parallel, it switched all its

stations Station may refer to: Agriculture * Station (Australian agriculture), a large Australian landholding used for livestock production * Station (New Zealand agriculture), a large New Zealand farm used for grazing by sheep and cattle ** Cattle statio ...

to a revamped IP image and supplies in 2012 around 4,200 filling stations (up from around 1,600 at the time of the acquisition) with a market share of 11%. In 2017,

Total Total may refer to: Mathematics * Total, the summation of a set of numbers * Total order, a partial order without incomparable pairs * Total relation, which may also mean ** connected relation (a binary relation in which any two elements are comp ...

and Erg signed an agreement with Anonima Petroli Italiana, to sell the fuel marketing and refining assets in their TotalErg joint venture. Total has stated that the reason behind this divestment is that the Italian fuel market is highly fragmented and the company's expectations for profitability have not been met. In 2018 TotalErg was acquired by Gruppo API, with the exception of the ''Special Fluids'' division, acquired by the newly formed Total Italia, and the subsidiary Totalgaz Italia, sold to the

UGI Corporation UGI Corporation (formerly United Gas Improvement Corp.) is a natural gas and electric power distribution company headquartered in King of Prussia, Pennsylvania, with extensive operations in the United States and Europe. UGI owns AmeriGas, the la ...

and renamed UniverGas Italia. All TotalErg stations will be progressively replaced by those bearing the IP Gruppo API brand. In 2019, the reverse

merger Mergers and acquisitions (M&A) are business transactions in which the ownership of companies, other business organizations, or their operating units are transferred to or consolidated with another company or business organization. As an aspect ...

of Anonima Petroli Italiana into TotalErg took place, and the company took on the name Italiana Petroli.

Operations

The Gruppo API also includes: * API Ancona Refinery * API Energia * Festival * APIOil UK * API Services API leverages a network of refineries for a total capacity of 5.5 million tonnes per year, including the entirety of the Ancona refinery, a portion of the Sarpom refinery in Trecate ( Novara), and contract work at the Alma refinery in Ravenna. The company derives its revenue from two main sources. Firstly, they distribute semi-finished

products for the petrochemical industry to use in the rubber and other associated industries. These products are being sold in both domestic and international markets. Secondly, the company generates income from the ownership and operations of the IP gas station chain. After purchasing 2,600 gas stations from the company

, IP currently manages in 2009 over 4,200 gas stations, which are supported by the company's own oil products. Starting in July 2021, Gruppo API has incorporated renewable raw materials into its refining process to produce

biofuel Biofuel is a fuel that is produced over a short time span from biomass, rather than by the very slow natural processes involved in the formation of fossil fuels, such as oil. According to the United States Energy Information Administration (E ...

s. In 2024 IP and

Macquarie Macquarie may refer to: People * Lachlan Macquarie, Governor of the British colony of New South Wales from 1810 to 1821. * Elizabeth Macquarie Campbell, Lachlan Macquarie's second wife Locations * Division of Macquarie, an electoral district in th ...

created a 50/50 joint venture, IPlanet, for the installation of electric charging stations in service stations.

IP Gruppo API

Italiana Petroli, also known by the acronym IP or IP Gruppo API, is the brand owned by Gruppo API active in the

and mobility services sector. Italiana Petroli (IP) was officially born in Genoa in May 1974 as the epilogue of the process which, at the end of 1973, had led to the acquisition of the activities of Shell Italiana, by Agip (

): the new

inherits the entire distribution network of the Anglo- Dutch company. The new brand replaced that of Shell during 1975; the renewal process, in addition to the image, leads to the modernization of the company's

service stations A filling station, also known as a gas station () or petrol station (), is a facility that sells fuel and engine lubricants for motor vehicles. The most common fuels sold in the 2010s were gasoline (or petrol) and diesel fuel. Gasoline ...

and the updating of the range of products sold. At the end of 2004 Eni put IP up for sale via tender, which in the first months of 2005 was purchased by Anonima Petroli Italiana (API) for 189 million euros; the transition was formalized the following 6 September. In 2007 IP was

merged Mergers and acquisitions (M&A) are business transactions in which the ownership of companies, other business organizations, or their operating units are transferred to or consolidated with another company or business organization. As an aspect ...

by incorporation into API: a corporate

rebranding Rebranding is a marketing strategy in which a new name, term, symbol, design, concept or combination thereof is created for an established brand with the intention of developing a new, differentiated identity in the minds of consumers, investors ...

followed which led all former API distributors to adopt the IP brand. In 2017, with the acquisition of TotalErg by Gruppo API, the former TotalErg network switched to the IP brand which thus became, with around 5,000 distributors, the most widespread oil brand on Italian roads with the 24% of the national market.

Gallery

File:Chiesa di San Rocco - Brignano Gera d'Adda 11-2006 - panoramio.jpg, Old API

gas station A filling station, also known as a gas station () or petrol station (), is a facility that sells fuel and engine lubricants for motor vehicles. The most common fuels sold in the 2010s were gasoline (or petrol) and diesel fuel. Gasoline ...

. File:Milano distributore corso Indipendenza.JPG, IP

. File:Distributore miscela olio benzina IP.jpg, An IP distributor from the 1980s showing the advertising link with the Italy national team. File:Gas pumps from 1950s.jpg, API 1950s fuel pump.

Logos

File:API globe vintage.jpg, A "globe" with the historical API logo on an old petrol pump preserved at the

Fisogni Museum The Fisogni Museum of the petrol station (in the past also SIRM Museum or Ormad Valseveso Museum), in Tradate, Italy, is a museum about gas pumps, Filling station, gas stations and petroliana, founded by Guido Fisogni in 1966. With its 8000 piec ...

. File:Api Italia 90.jpg, Historical API logo. File:Logo API.svg, New API logo (no longer in use since 2019). File:Gruppo API Logo.svg, New Gruppo API logo. File:IP Logo.svg, New IP Gruppo API logo. File:IPlanet Logo.svg, IPlanet logo.

References

External links

* {{Authority control Oil and gas companies of Italy Automotive fuel retailers Chemical companies of Italy Companies based in Rome Italian brands Italian companies established in 1933 Energy companies established in 1933 Non-renewable resource companies established in 1933