* Eni, Enel, Terna CEOs have govt backing for new term
* Finmeccanica's Guarguaglini to stay as chairman, not CEO
By Paolo Biondi and Stephen Jewkes
MILAN/ROME, March 31 (Reuters) - Top executives at Italy's state-controlled energy groups look set to get the blessing of their government masters for another term of office in acknowledgment of a job well done, political sources close to the matter said.
Paolo Scaroni, Chief Executive of oil and gas group Eni, and Fulvio Conti, at the helm of power utility Enel, both come up for re-election in April.
"They should be confirmed. The line of the Treasury is to reward the good results they have achieved," one of the sources said.
In the next few days Italy's Treasury Ministry, which has controlling stakes in both groups, is expected to publish a list of proposed board members for Eni and Enel that will effectively confirm both men in their positions.
"Scaroni and Conti were put there by Berlusconi and still enjoy his support. In a sign of recognition and continuity I can't see them being removed," a Milan energy analyst said.
Besides Eni and Enel, the centre-right government of Silvio Berlusconi will also confirm Flavio Cattaneo as CEO at power grid group Terna, the sources said.
They added that Pier Francesco Guarguaglini, CEO and Chairman of Italian air defence group Finmeccanica, is expected to retain his position as Chairman but an internal candidate will move up to fill the CEO role.
ENERGY HEADS SAFE
Enel's Conti, originally appointed by Berlusconi, is the man who internationalised Enel after buying Spain's Endesa, and this is seen as strengthening his position.
"He's managing the orchestra and they will play his song," the Milan analyst said. "He's the man with all the connections both inside the group and the government."
To cut the massive debt pile created by the Endesa acquisition, Conti was forced to launch a rights issue in 2009, pare back its dividend policy and sell off a series of assets including a stake in renewable unit Enel Green Power.
Paolo Scaroni, who took over at Eni in June 2005 after a spell as CEO at Enel, was also first appointed by Berlusconi with whom the 64-year-old manager is said to have good relations.
Scaroni, who in 2010 drew a salary of 4.42 million euros, came under fire in some quarters for a spending spree after he took the helm in 2005 that weighed on debt. In 2009 Eni shares fell sharply when the dividend was cut.
(Editing by Elaine Hardcastle)