IP Gruppo API

IP Gruppo API is the fuel-retailing and mobility-services brand associated with Italiana Petroli S.p.A. and the wider Gruppo API, an Italian petroleum and energy group headquartered in Rome. The group traces its origins to Anonima Petroli Italiana, founded in Ancona in 1933 by Ferdinando Peretti. Its activities span crude-oil and semi-finished-product supply, refining, petroleum-product trading, fuel distribution, service-station operations, electricity generation, and newer lower-carbon mobility services. The IP identity originated as Italiana Petroli, a company established in Genoa in 1974 after the transfer of Shell Italiana's distribution activities to Agip, the fuel business of Eni. The Shell network was progressively converted to the IP brand from 1975, accompanied by station modernization and changes to the product range. In 2005, Anonima Petroli Italiana acquired IP from Eni for €189 million, with the transaction formally completed in September of that year. API initially operated its own network and the acquired IP network in parallel, but later chose IP as the principal retail identity. In 2012, the group supplied approximately 4,200 filling stations, compared with roughly 1,600 at the time of its original acquisition of IP. The group expanded substantially through the acquisition of TotalErg's Italian refining and fuel-marketing assets. An agreement announced in 2017 between Total, Erg, and Anonima Petroli Italiana led to Gruppo API's acquisition of TotalErg in 2018, excluding businesses that were sold or transferred separately, including the Special Fluids division and Totalgaz Italia. TotalErg stations were subsequently converted to the IP format. Following the 2019 merger of TotalErg into Anonima Petroli Italiana, the legal company adopted the name Italiana Petroli. The IP brand consequently became one of the most widely distributed fuel brands on Italian roads, with approximately 5,000 distributors and a reported national market share of about 24% after the TotalErg integration. The underlying group is not limited to retail fuel. It coordinates the procurement and movement of crude oil and intermediate products, purchases finished petroleum products, conducts exchanges with other oil companies to improve distribution logistics, trades crude and by-products, and sells petroleum-derived products in Italy and abroad. Its industrial assets include the API refinery in Ancona, which has a stated capacity of 3.9 million tonnes per year, interests in other refining capacity, and a 250 MW power plant. Across its refining arrangements, the group has been described as leveraging total capacity of approximately 5.5 million tonnes per year. The group also includes businesses and units such as API Energia, Festival, APIOil UK, API Services, and the API Ancona refinery. From July 2021, the group began incorporating renewable raw materials into its refining process for biofuel production. In 2024, IP and Macquarie established IPlanet, a 50/50 joint venture intended to install electric-vehicle charging infrastructure at service stations. This reflects a broadening of the IP proposition from conventional road fuel toward an integrated mobility-service model. Until 2025, Gruppo API was held through API Holding, which was wholly owned by the Brachetti Peretti family. In September 2025, the group was sold to SOCAR, the Azerbaijani petroleum company. The chairman is identified as Ugo Brachetti Peretti and the chief executive officer as Alberto Chiarini. The brand therefore combines a long-established Italian service-station network with refining, wholesale, energy, and emerging alternative-mobility activities.

Anonima Petroli Italiana was founded in Ancona in 1933 by Ferdinando Peretti. From its beginnings, the company developed around the procurement, processing, movement, and sale of petroleum products. It coordinated supplies of crude and semi-finished products, acquired finished fuels, arranged transportation and logistics exchanges with other oil companies, traded crude and by-products, and marketed petroleum products in Italy and foreign markets. Its industrial base included the API refinery in Ancona and an electricity-generating facility. The IP retail identity has a separate origin. Italiana Petroli was created in Genoa in May 1974 after Agip, Eni's fuel business, acquired the activities of Shell Italiana. The new company inherited Shell's Italian distribution network, and its stations were progressively converted to the IP identity from 1975. The conversion involved new visual branding, station modernization, and revisions to the products offered to motorists. At the end of 2004, Eni put IP up for sale. Anonima Petroli Italiana won the process in the first months of 2005 for €189 million, with the transfer formalized on 6 September 2005. API initially ran its original network and the acquired IP stations in parallel. It later decided to use IP as the group-wide retail identity. By 2012, the group supplied about 4,200 stations, a substantial increase from the approximately 1,600 stations associated with the network at the time of the acquisition. A major expansion occurred through the acquisition of TotalErg. Total and Erg agreed in 2017 to sell TotalErg's fuel-marketing and refining assets to Anonima Petroli Italiana. Total cited the fragmentation of the Italian fuel market and disappointing profitability expectations as factors behind its exit. Gruppo API completed the acquisition in 2018, except for the Special Fluids division, which went to the newly created Total Italia, and Totalgaz Italia, which was sold to UGI Corporation and renamed UniverGas Italia. TotalErg stations were progressively converted to the IP design. In 2019, TotalErg was merged into Anonima Petroli Italiana, and the surviving company adopted the name Italiana Petroli. The enlarged IP network reached approximately 5,000 distributors and was described as the most widespread oil brand on Italian roads, with around 24% of the national market. The group continued to combine retail fuel with industrial refining, wholesale petroleum supply, trading, and electricity generation. Its refining footprint has been described as having approximately 5.5 million tonnes of annual capacity across the Ancona refinery, a share of the Sarpom refinery at Trecate, and contracted activity at the Alma refinery in Ravenna. The Ancona facility itself has a stated capacity of 3.9 million tonnes per year, while the group's power plant has a capacity of 250 MW. The company began adding renewable raw materials to its refining process in July 2021 to produce biofuels. In 2024, IP and Macquarie created IPlanet, a 50/50 venture focused on installing electric-vehicle chargers at service stations. This initiative complemented the traditional petrol and diesel business with an infrastructure proposition for electric mobility. Until 2025, the group was a subsidiary of API Holding, wholly owned by the Brachetti Peretti family. In September 2025, ownership transferred to SOCAR, Azerbaijan's petroleum company. The group's current leadership is identified as chairman Ugo Brachetti Peretti and CEO Alberto Chiarini. The company remains an active participant in Italy's fuel, refining, and mobility-services sectors.

• 2025

  SOCAR acquires Gruppo API

  [1]Gruppo APIen.wikipedia.org

  In September 2025, the Azerbaijani petroleum company SOCAR acquired Gruppo API.

• 2024

  IPlanet is created

  [1]Gruppo APIen.wikipedia.org

  IP and Macquarie formed a 50/50 venture for electric-vehicle charging infrastructure at service stations.

• 2021

  Renewable feedstocks enter the refining process

  [1]Gruppo APIen.wikipedia.org

  The group began using renewable raw materials in refining to produce biofuels.

• 2019

  Legal name becomes Italiana Petroli

  [1]Gruppo APIen.wikipedia.org

  TotalErg merged into Anonima Petroli Italiana, after which the company adopted the name Italiana Petroli.

• 2018

  TotalErg assets join Gruppo API

  [1]Gruppo APIen.wikipedia.org

  Gruppo API acquired most of TotalErg's Italian refining and fuel-marketing assets, expanding the IP network.

• 2012

  IP network reaches approximately 4,200 stations

  [1]Gruppo APIen.wikipedia.org

  The group supplied roughly 4,200 filling stations, up from approximately 1,600 around the time of the 2005 acquisition.

• 2005

  API acquires IP from Eni

  [1]Gruppo APIen.wikipedia.org

  Anonima Petroli Italiana purchased Italiana Petroli from Eni for €189 million; the transfer was formalized on 6 September.

• 1975

  Shell stations begin conversion to IP

  [1]Gruppo APIen.wikipedia.org

  The former Shell Italian service-station network began adopting the IP brand and was progressively modernized.

• 1974

  Italiana Petroli is established

  [1]Gruppo APIen.wikipedia.org

  Italiana Petroli was created in Genoa after Agip's acquisition of Shell Italiana's activities.

• 1933

  Anonima Petroli Italiana is founded

  [1]Gruppo APIen.wikipedia.org

  Ferdinando Peretti founded Anonima Petroli Italiana in Ancona, establishing the business that later became the core of Gruppo API.

A national Italian fuel and mobility network backed by refining, petroleum trading, energy-generation, and lower-carbon mobility capabilities.

• Fuel retail and mobility services · 1974

  IP fuel stations

  The IP network is the group's principal consumer-facing business. Its stations distribute conventional road fuels and provide roadside mobility services across Italy. The network grew through the acquisition of IP from Eni and the later integration and rebranding of TotalErg locations. After the TotalErg transaction, the network comprised approximately 5,000 distributors and became one of the most extensive branded fuel networks in Italy.

• Petroleum products · 1933

  Petroleum and refinery products

  Gruppo API supplies and trades crude oil, semi-finished petroleum products, finished fuels, and by-products. These materials serve the Italian market, international customers, and petrochemical applications including rubber-related industries. Production and supply are supported by the API refinery in Ancona and other refining arrangements involving the Sarpom refinery and contracted capacity at the Alma refinery.

• Renewable fuels · 2021

  Biofuels

  From July 2021, the group incorporated renewable raw materials into its refining process for biofuel production. The initiative extends the group's established refining capabilities into lower-carbon fuel production while retaining its connection to the conventional petroleum supply chain.

• Electric-vehicle charging · 2024

  IPlanet charging network

  IPlanet is a 50/50 joint venture between IP and Macquarie created to install electric-vehicle charging stations at service stations. It represents the group's move toward a broader mobility-services model in which existing fuel-station locations can also serve electric vehicles.

• Power generation

  Electricity generation

  The group operates a power plant with a stated capacity of 250 MW as part of its broader energy and industrial portfolio.

• 2025

  Sell Gruppo API to SOCARM&A

  Background

  Gruppo API had previously been held through API Holding, which was wholly owned by the Brachetti Peretti family.

  Action taken

  In September 2025, ownership of Gruppo API was transferred to SOCAR, the Azerbaijani petroleum company.

  Aftermath

  The transaction made SOCAR the group's owner while the IP brand continued its Italian fuel and mobility operations.

  Source

• 2024

  Create IPlanet for electric mobilityStrategy

  Background

  Road-fuel retailers are expanding into electric-vehicle charging and other mobility services.

  Action taken

  IP and Macquarie formed IPlanet as a 50/50 joint venture to install electric charging stations at service stations.

  Aftermath

  The venture gave the IP network a dedicated platform for electric-vehicle infrastructure.

  Source

• 2021

  Add renewable feedstocks to refiningStrategy

  Background

  The group sought to extend its refining activities into renewable fuels.

  Action taken

  Beginning in July 2021, renewable raw materials were incorporated into the refining process for biofuel production.

  Aftermath

  The change added biofuels to the group's petroleum and mobility portfolio.

  Source

• 2019

  Merge TotalErg into Anonima Petroli ItalianaM&A

  Background

  The acquisition of TotalErg's principal Italian activities required legal and operational integration.

  Action taken

  TotalErg was merged into Anonima Petroli Italiana, which adopted the legal name Italiana Petroli.

  Aftermath

  The enlarged network operated under the IP identity and became one of Italy's most widespread branded fuel networks.

  Source

• 2017

  Agree to acquire TotalErg's Italian assetsM&A

  Background

  Total and Erg decided to sell TotalErg's fuel-marketing and refining assets in Italy. Total cited the fragmentation of the Italian fuel market and weaker-than-expected profitability prospects.

  Action taken

  Anonima Petroli Italiana signed an agreement to acquire the relevant TotalErg activities, excluding the Special Fluids division and Totalgaz Italia.

  Aftermath

  The transaction was completed in 2018, and TotalErg stations were progressively converted to the IP brand.

  Source

• 2005

  Acquire Italiana Petroli from EniM&A

  Background

  Eni put IP up for sale at the end of 2004, creating an opportunity for API to expand its downstream retail network.

  Action taken

  Anonima Petroli Italiana purchased Italiana Petroli for €189 million. The transaction was formally completed on 6 September 2005.

  Aftermath

  API initially operated the acquired IP network alongside its existing stations before progressively consolidating its retail identity around the IP brand.

  Acquisition price. €189 million (2005)

  Source

1. 1Gruppo APIen.wikipedia.org