Italian oil workers seek deal for Russian-owned refinery

ORTIGIA, Sicily (AP) — Thousands of workers at a Russian-owned oil refinery in Sicily have protested the facility’s possible closure as Europe imposes a full embargo on Russian oil starting next month. Workers at the ISAB Srl plant are demanding action from Italy’s new economic development minister. He was meeting in Rome on Friday with union leaders and others to find a solution for the refinery , owned by Russia’s Lukoil. It directly employs 3,500 people and indirectly supports another 6,500 jobs. Workers are demanding either the refinery’s privatization or that the government’s export credit agency SACE act as a guarantor on future loans to buy oil from non-Russian sources.