Italian energy company Ludoil Capital announced on September 23, 2026 that it has completed the process of acquiring a 51% stake in the ISAB refinery in Sicily from GOI Energy. The acquisition was finalized after passing Italy’s Golden Power review, and the company reportedly plans to invest roughly €1.3 billion over the next five years.
The ISAB refinery, located across Priolo, Melilli, and Syracuse in Sicily, is one of the largest refining facilities in the Mediterranean; following this acquisition, the company plans to restart some idled units including atmospheric distillation, hydrodesulfurization (HDS), solvent deasphalting (SDA), and pyrolysis. It will also pursue a biofuel transition to produce sustainable aviation fuel (SAF), hydrotreated vegetable oil (HVO), and bio-gasoline, having already begun co-processing biofeed at its fluid catalytic cracking (FCC) unit in July 2026.
The enterprise value of this acquisition was assessed at roughly €1 billion, and Ludoil Capital plans to invest approximately €1.3 billion in new equipment over the next five years. During this period, the company plans to bring in about 1,000 new personnel, and plans to hire an additional roughly 100 specialized staff once the restart of the facilities is complete, according to the report.
The ISAB refinery has a history of past ownership changes and financial difficulties, so this acquisition and the large-scale investment plan are understood as an attempt to simultaneously normalize operations at one of the Mediterranean’s largest refining facilities and drive its transition into biofuel production.
This acquisition is cited as an example in the European refining industry of a large refining facility that had been in financial difficulty finding a new investor and seeking a turnaround conditioned on a biofuel transition. In particular, the conversion to biofuel production facilities such as SAF and HVO aligns with a common move among refiners to respond to tightening EU renewable energy and aviation fuel carbon emissions regulations. That the Italian government subjected this acquisition of core energy infrastructure by foreign or offshore capital to a Golden Power review also reflects a broader trend of European countries strengthening energy security screening. The large-scale new hiring plan is expected to have a significant impact on the local economy, and observers note that similar asset sale and acquisition cases could follow at other aging refineries in Europe.
When the idled units will actually be restarted, and on what schedule the announced 1,000 new hires will proceed, are of interest. How far SAF and HVO production capacity will be expanded, and whether the ownership and operating structure of the ISAB refinery will remain stable following this acquisition, are also variables that will need to be confirmed going forward.