Marco Villa

Marco Villa is from January 2024 Chief Business Officer & Excom Member of Technip Energies in charge of Business Development activities and project execution. He has previously served as Chief Operating Officer. He is Board Member of Rely a newly incorporated company dedicated to Green H2 and Power to X From 2003 until 2017, Marco served in a number of leadership positions at Technip, including as President Europe, Middle East, India, and Africa, Region B President and Chief Executive Officer Technip Italy and Region B Chief Financial Officer. Further to the merger with FMC Technologies he served as TechnipFMC’s President Onshore/Offshore (now Technip Energies) for Europe, Middle East, India, and Africa Prior to joining Technip, he worked as a finance specialist for Finmeccanica, an Italian multinational company specializing in aerospace, defense and security, and as the Head of the Finance and Risk Management Division of Telespazio (Telecom Italia Group), a European spaceflight services company. Marco graduated with honors with a degree in economics from Rome University.

Session Overview

Wednesday, 5 November

14:30

Downstream & Chemical ICC Hall B 14:30 - 15:10

The future of refining: decarbonisation, demand disruption, and strategic direction

The refining industry is navigating a transitional grey zone, facing mounting pressure to decarbonise, shifting fuel demand, and sustained margin pressures. While some operators are advancing with low-carbon fuel production, carbon capture, and process upgrades, others are reassessing timelines in light of policy uncertainty, infrastructure constraints, and fluctuating economic signals. At the same time, deeper structural questions are emerging: how will overcapacity, evolving product demand, and regional competitiveness reshape the long-term role of refining? For many, chemical integration or diversification into low-carbon fuels and materials offer potential paths forward, while others are weighing consolidation, rationalisation, or strategic repositioning. Strategic divergence is intensifying due to uneven access to capital, regulatory divergence between major markets, and broader uncertainties in global trade and investment flows. As a result, refining leaders must balance short-term operational decisions while also reevaluating the viability of existing assets and the investment logic of long-term infrastructure commitments. Finding clarity in this grey zone will be critical to ensuring both resilience and relevance in the years ahead.

Attendee insights:

Gain perspective on how refining strategies are evolving to balance decarbonisation targets with structural market pressures, including overcapacity, shifting demand, and long-term competitiveness.