Eni CEO: Eni will invest 26 billion dollars in North Africa within the next four years.
Claudio Descalzi, CEO of Italian energy company Eni, said Tuesday that the group will invest approximately 24 billion euros ($26.24billion) in Algeria Libya and Egypt during the next four-year period to boost energy production.
The investments will coincide with Rome's efforts to revive its economic and political relations with Africa, as part of the so-called Mattei Plan.
Eni has been a major investor in the energy sector of North Africa for many years.
Descalzi said that the three countries could play an important role in supplying hydrocarbons to Europe but they need outside investment to expand energy production and meet increasing domestic demand.
He told a conference on energy in Ravenna, Italy that "internal demand" in these countries is growing at a rate of 7-8% per year due to demographic growth. This means they require gas and they need to invest.
Descalzi stated that Eni plans to invest 8 billion euros in Algeria, Libya and Egypt over the next four-year period.
Egypt planned to become one of the world's major gas exporters after Eni discovered its offshore Zohr gas field in 2015. The country's domestic gas production has fallen since 2021 and reached its lowest level in six years in 2024.
Cyprus and Egypt have signed an agreement to process gas from Cyprus offshore fields, which is exported to Egypt by Eni for liquefaction, and then re-export into Europe. ($1 = 0.9445 euros) (Reporting and editing by Alvise Armallini and Rachna uppal)
(source: Reuters)
