A Challenge to Cold War Energy Politics? The US and Italy’s Relations with the Soviet Union, 1958–1969

Abstract

This chapter examines the relationship between the Italian state-owned company Ente Nazionale Idrocarburi (National Hydrocarbon Agency, ENI) and the USSR between the late 1950s and the late 1960s. Based on corporate and state archives in Italy and the US, the author argues that ENI was one of the first West European oil firms to establish relations with the USSR, challenging US international energy policies and oil interests in Italy. ENI used its deals with the USSR not only to access cheap sources of energy and export its petrochemical and industrial products, but also to force American and British oil companies to meet Italy’s energy needs. Therefore, while the agreements ENI signed with the USSR between the late 1950s and the early 1960s challenged Cold War oil policies, they also strengthened Italy’s position and membership inside NATO. At the same time, once the process of détente made relations between the blocs easier, ENI and Italy claimed the role of pioneers who had anticipated certain forms of cooperation between Western Europe and the USSR.