Enrico Mattei

Cofounder, Eni

Search every verified Enrico Mattei interview, podcast appearance, and on-the-record quote — each transcript cross-checked by AI and human review to confirm speaker identity. Enrico Mattei, cofounder of Eni, has been publicly discussing his past confrontations with the major international oil companies, known as the Seven Sisters. In a 2021 appearance, he recounted a 1959 meeting with a senior executive of one of these companies, describing how the executive proposed raising prices in Italy to increase profits. Mattei stated that he rejected this approach, emphasizing his role as a state company representative to lower costs for consumers. He also described his company's strategy of forming 50-50 partnerships with oil-producing countries, which he said allowed those nations to participate in their own resource development, contrasting this with the practices of the established cartel. In an earlier 2012 interview, Mattei discussed the pressures Eni faced from the oil cartel and the broader geopolitical context of his actions. He mentioned a 1958 CIA report on his influence in Italian politics and his challenge to the cartel's market control. The interview also covered his 1960 agreement with the Soviet Union to purchase crude oil, a move that drew criticism from the U.S. press, which labeled him a traitor for potentially undermining NATO security. Mattei noted that the Soviet oil was acquired at a price significantly below that charged by the cartel companies.