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Assomineraria,
the Italian Petroleum and Mining Industry Association, was founded in 1917 and is
part of
Confindustria, the Italian manufacturer’s syndicate.
The main objective of Assomineraria is to defend and support the interests of its Associate members
(123), specialized in the various fields of mineral exploration and production.
Assomineraria is organized in three Sectors.
The Mining Sector includes companies active in the exploration of the Italian sub-soil to extract and produce solid minerals (bentonite, coal, silica, kaolin, feldspar, talc) destined to high value-added industrial processing (paper, glass, plastic, paints, ceramics, medicines, cosmetics and others).
The Hydrocarbons and Geothermal Resources Sector and the Manufacturers and Suppliers of Equipment and Services Sector include, respectively, Operators and Contractors specialised in
researching and exploiting the onshore and off-shore Italian reserves of oil and natural gas, in managing and developing natural gas storing capacities and in producing geo-thermal resources.
Operators include the “Majors”, branch offices of important international oil companies, and “Junior” european and north-american companies. Among the Contractors, branch offices of international corporations and italian companies that, having developed new state-of-the-art plant engineering technology, have broadened out in the international market, in many cases with great success.
The activity carried out in Italy by Assomineraria and the Companies it represents has led to the valorisation of sub-soil resources that are very important from an economic and strategic standpoint; it has also contributed to the development and implementation of operational and technological skills which are strongly competitive on the global market.
The activity of the Associated companies can be summed up as follows:
 production, for year 2008, of more than 10 million tonnes of solid minerals; 13 million tonnes of oil equivalent, divided between oil (5,2 million Mtoe) and natural gas (7,8 Mtoe), and total sales for 5 billion Euros, plus more than 15 billion Euros sales in the Italian “parapetroleum” industry, whose leadership is recognized all over the world;
total investments, in the same year, for more than 1 billion Euros, with 991 million invested in exploration, production and storage;
active infrastructures including 770 production wells, 120 offshore platforms, more than 50 processing plants for oil and natural gas, 10 storage plants and 50 production sites of industrial minerals;
yearly investments for more than 300 million Euros in research, in collaboration with Universities and Polytechnics, contributing to the formation of a state-of the-art specialised know-how;
around 65.000 employed, of which 15.000 are directly involved in the activity in Italy.
These important figures are not known well enough and are even more outstanding if we consider other two aspects related to the activity.
In the first place, the italian extractive sector contributes to the Country’s economy with a yearly sum of more than 1 billion Euros in taxes on business income and about 260 million Euros/year in royalties and other incomes. Together, the mining and the “para-petroleum” export industry contribute to tax income for a total of 4,5 billion Euro/year. Secondly, the internal production of oil and gas helps in cutting the hydrocarbons supply from abroad, thus allowing savings up to 5 billion Euros on the Country’s energy bill, a sum that corresponds today to 7% of the energy supply and to 9% of hydrocarbon supply.
These strong points can and must support the economic recovery of the Country, also by contributing to the development of the hydrocarbon reserves existing in the national sub-soil.
According to the best estimates, italian additional hydrocarbon proven reserves amount to 1.600 million BOE (barrels of oil equivalent), plus further potential reserves that could amount to 1.100-2.300 million BOE.
This considerable wealth can be exploited gradually to give the Country great economic benefits, such as further cuts on the “oil bill”, more tax income for the public finance, new job opportunities, innovation and technological upgrading.
Assomineraria has estimated that the value of italian oil and gas still to be exploited in the next 2 or 3 decades is at least around 100 billion Euros.
The economic crisis has recently led us to quantifying the projects already under way to increase the national production in the near future. A great part of these projects, already declared feasible from a technical-economical point of view, is currently at a standstill or slowed down either by particular regional laws or by delays in the issue of authorizations by relevant Authorities.
To build and start up the plants, the projects (exploration, development, storage) need a total investment of more than 5 billion Euros, plus about 2 billion Euros to operate the plants for the duration of their life cycle. The investments involve a great number of Contractors and could employ a workforce of more than 34.000 persons per year, located in the mining areas but especially in the oil districts where the Manufacturers and Suppliers of Equipment and Services will have their headquarters.
It is evident that the delays in the implementation of the projects can cause great damage to the Companies involved, up to the point of determining serious situations at managerial level.
Assomineraria is committed to performing an action of constant information and real support with the Ministry for Economic Development and other Authorities to overcome all the procedural obstacles and carry on in realizing the projects.
The objective is to obtain a dependable time path for the authorization process and to render more effective and simple the relationships, and the respective responsibilities, between the various public administrations involved in the authorization processes and between these and the Operators of the sector.
The aim of Assomineraria is to obtain a strong and clear commitment from relevant Authorities to attract investments to implement projects financed by the Operators concerned; planned in the most scrupulous respect of the environment and the socio-economic context, the projects would make a valuable contribution to overcome the current crisis.
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Activities of Assomineraria
Monitors, studies and proposes initiatives on the legislative frame and regulations regarding mining and energy-related national activities (Parliament and competent Ministries), at local level (Regions) and with the European Parliament and Commission.
Cooperates with Confindustria and Confindustria Energia in political initiatives on energy, mining and environmental issues; through the Manufacturers and Suppliers of Equipment and Services Sector collaborates with Federprogetti to promote and develop the entire chain of the upstream industry.
Maintains close relations with international organisations, agencies and associations, such as the International Association of Oil & Gas Producers (OGP) and the Industrial Minerals Association (IMA-Europe).
Supports Associate companies in their plans to access and succeed in the global market.
Promotes the certification of its Associate members and the diffusion of technical innovations relevant for environmental, safety and quality standards in a Corporate Social Responsibility framework.
Represents the employers in the national Mining Workers Contract.
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Tools of the Association
Study Commissions (legal affairs, environment, safety and health issues) and Working Groups on important topics.
Conferences, seminars and periodic meetings on relevant matters raised by its members.
Monthly newsletter "Assomin Notizie" and web site (www.assomineraria.org) with informations reserved to Associate members.
"SESAMo" information system accessible through web site AMI, to support the international development of its Associate members.
Assomineraria has recently unified its organizational structure to make it more flexible, effective and cost-efficient, while guaranteeing consistency and continuity of governance at Sector level and as a unique operating system.
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