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Italy's oil and gas major, Eni SpA, has announced that it's bunker-producing refinery in Livorno is no longer up for sale, Reuters reports.

Speaking on the sidelines of a conference this week, refining and marketing director Angelo Caridi is quoted as saying: "We have not found an economic solution which satisfies us, and so it's no longer for sale."

The announcement follows reports that Eni was in preliminary talks with UK private equity fund Klesch & Co to sell the refinery.

The Livorno plant, which has a refining capacity of 84,000 barrels per day (bpd) and a conversion index of 11.4%, mainly manufactures fuel oil for bunkering, gasolines and lubricant bases.

The facility links directly with the local harbour and storage sites by means of two pipelines that optimize the intake, handling and distribution of products.

Last week the country's oil refineries and oil product manufacturers association, Unione Petrolifera, said Italy's oil refining sector was in crisis and up to five refineries could face closure.

Refineries based in Livorno (84,000 bpd), Pantano (90,000 bpd), Falconara (85,000 bpd), Taranto (90,000 bpd) and Gela (100,000 bpd) were named by the association as possible candidates for shutdown.