Education and Qualifications

Mazzagatti studied sustainability and corporate responsibility at the London Business School and holds an MBA from Buckinghamshire New University․

Career journey

Napag was originally a trading company importing and distributing fruits and juices‚ and Mazzagatti explored diversifying into other sectors․ Starting in 2014‚ he switched Napag's focus to oil‚ gas and petrochemical trading in Europe and the Middle East․ It was through trading that he entered the energy sector and built a network of contacts in global commodity markets, which later allowed him to enter asset ownership․ Between 2018 and 2020, he was a director of Singapore-based Alliance Petrochemical Investment, which traded fuels and related products on a wholesale basis.

Business acquisitions

It was in 2020 that Mazzagatti founded Viaro Energy‚ an oil and gas exploration and production business and made it his primary investment vehicle. Viaro Energy subsequently acquired AIM-listed North Sea oil and gas company RockRose Energy plc for approximately £247 million‚ a huge premium to its pre-offer trading price․ The deal formed the basis of Viaro's later upstream expansion as, with it, the company acquired a ready-made North Sea operating platform and experienced workforce. 


In April 2021, RockRose Energy acquired 100% of the share capital of Hague and London Oil B․V․ (HALO)‚ adding Dutch gas production and non-operated equity in a joint development area in the Dutch North Sea․ Viaro Energy acquired a package of non-operated UK production interests from SSE in October 2021 for a reported total consideration of $164 million plus a contingent payment of $54 million․ The acquired interests included stakes in more than 16 producing gas fields․ Then, in 2023, Viaro announced that it had acquired the West of Shetland licence interests of Spark Exploration UK and agreed to farm into Southern North Sea assets of Hartshead Resources․ As part of the Hartshead agreement, RockRose Energy gained a 60% working interest in the redevelopment of the Anning and Somerville gas fields‚ with operatorship agreed to transfer to RockRose at a later date, a case of Viaro Energy aiming to take on operatorship within what's otherwise a largely non-operated portfolio․

As part of its new strategy to diversify and decarbonise its portfolio‚ the company signed MOUs with nuclear technology developers Newcleo and Terrestrial Energy to explore advanced nuclear power‚ including small modular reactors․ Viaro Energy also made a direct equity investment in Newcleo as part of its partnership․ An MOU with Terrestrial Energy includes plans for a molten salt reactor project in the UK‚ with a target final investment decision in 2030․

Business Philosophy

Mazzagatti has articulately voiced his belief that investment in North Sea oil and gas can‚ and should continue to‚ complement the broader energy transition in the UK․ He has argued that disciplined private capital plays a critical role in sustaining energy security in the UK as the energy system as a whole transitions․

This outlook is behind Viaro Energy's dual-track strategy of acquiring and holding interests in producing oil and gas assets‚ including via selective operatorship‚ plus entering into partnerships to develop nuclear power to decarbonize its existing base․

Viaro Energy has continued to invest in North Sea energy assets through a period of increased fiscal and regulatory uncertainty amid the introduction and amendments to the UK Energy Profits Levy․ Mazzagatti argues domestic gas production is preferable to greater dependence on gas imports․

Achievements and Milestones

Mazzagatti is the founder and CEO of the SRM Foundation‚ a UK-registered charity․ The charity seeks to contribute to the transition to clean energy and focuses on social justice and supporting the UN Sustainable Development Goals․ Its first major project was partnering with Robert Gordon University in Aberdeen: a 55-acre biodiversity and wetland restoration project at the university's Waterside Farm made possible by a one-off £100‚000 donation․

CSR Activities

Viaro Group reached a turnover of about $1 billion in 2020. Viaro Energy is an independent North Sea investor with working interests in around 60 North Sea fields and producing around 25,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day.

Awards and Major Industry Leadership Positions

Mazzagatti has been recognized in the Energy/Oil and Gas category‚ by XODUS Communications‚ in the UK Forty Under 40 Awards; their citation noted his rise from the family logistics business to running an energy group with a turnover approaching $1 billion․ Mazzagatti has spoken at CERAWeek and other conferences on topics such as energy investment‚ North Sea strategy‚ and the role of nuclear power in the energy transition;  and he has written commentary in UK media on energy security and the pace of transition to net-zero․ Mazzagatti was appointed as one of three new members of the European Board of IOGP Europe‚ and is a member of the advisory board of the World Energy Capital Assembly‚ a major energy and investment industry conference․

Viaro Energy's strategy involves building its portfolio of mainly non-operated joint venture interests across a range of North Sea licences‚ generating income from production and using it to fund further acquisitions that grow reserves and production capacity․ Gas makes up over 70% of the portfolio and the company views this as a transition fuel for UK and European energy security․ The group's approach is acquiring mature‚ non-core North Sea assets from larger energy firms such as SSE. So, what does it mean in layperson’s terms? Viaro Energy makes money by taking an equity stake in North Sea gas fields‚ usually in consortium with other companies‚ and receiving a share of the gas produced without operating the fields itself. It also takes over some of the older fields that larger gas producers have divested but which it believes still have a number of years left on which to operate․

Viaro Group is a privately held British company with over twenty years' combined experience in the logistics and energy sectors․ Viaro Group traces its origins to 2012; its UK headquarters was established in around 2018/2019. Viaro Energy is part of the wider Viaro Group alongside Viaro Investment and Viaro Real Estate․ Viaro Investment is engaged in the trading of gasoline‚ middle distillates‚ petrochemical products‚ naphtha‚ fuel oil and crude oil with international trading houses and other counterparties․