Descalzi started to work at Eni in 1981, when he joined the multinational company operating in the production and distribution of energy as a reservoir engineer. In 1990, Descalzi was appointed Head of Reservoir and operating activities for Eni Italy, a position which led him to develop a new model and to increase production to 250,000 barrels per day. From 1994 to 1998 He was Managing Director of Eni’s subsidiary in Congo, starting in 1997 the production in the Kitina offshore. In 1998 he became Vice President and Managing Director of NAOC: during this period He started the export of gas produced at the NLNG liquefaction plant and the development of deep-water offshore local projects. Descalzi was appointed Executive Vice President for Eni Africa, Eni Middle East and Eni China in 2000 and he defined, launched and oversaw the start-up of the Eni Western Libyan, intended to increase the production of barrels per day in Libya from 85,000 to 280,000. From 2002 to 2005 he worked as Executive Vice President for Eni Italy, Eni Africa and Eni Middle East, covering at the same time the role of member of the board of several Eni subsidiaries. In 2005 he was appointed Deputy Chief Operating Officer of the Exploration & Production Division in Eni, a role he held until 2008. Descalzi became in 2008 Chief Operating Officer of the Exploration & Production Division in Eni, giving his contribution to the definition of the strategic plan of upstream activities in Italy and abroad and starting important projects such as Goliat in Norway, West Hub in Angola and campaign of exploration in Mozambique. In 2014 he was appointed Chief Executive Officer of Eni. He has been a member of the General Board and of the Advisory Board of Confindustria and Director of Fondazione Teatro alla Scala, Claudio Descalzi is also a member of the National Petroleum Council for 2016/2017. He was previously Chairman of Eni UK and President of Assomineraria.
Legal problems
Trial
The trial against Descalzi's bribery in Nigeria started in March 2018.
