Abstract

The European oil industry is currently suffering a decrease in demand and tough international competition. The fall in Italian consumption of oil products has started long before the financial crisis of 2008-2009 and has accelerated in the following years. This demand crisis is affecting the Sicilian producers, which are active in the upstream and downstream sectors, representing an important component of the regional economy. At the end of 2012, the oil industry employed around 10 thousand people in Sicily, both directly and indirectly, and provide a tax return of more than € 160 million, with 16.6 million for the extraction of crude oil as royalties; moreover, oil products accounted for almost 75% of regional exports. The aim of the paper is to give a comprehensive view of the oil industry trends and perspectives in the current crisis context.