Italy wants to become a major gas importer from North Africa for Europe. Rome concludes extensive supply contracts, first with Algeria and now also with Libya.
Italy and Libya want to develop new gas fields in the Mediterranean over the next few years and thus contribute to the energy security of Europe and the North African country. During a visit by a delegation from Rome led by Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, a joint contract worth the equivalent of almost 7.4 billion euros was signed.
Italy’s largest gas importer Eni and the Libyan state oil company NOC want to develop two gas fields northwest of Tripoli by 2026, from which up to 21 million cubic meters of natural gas are to be fetched daily. Eni described the plan as “the first major project in the country since the early 2000s”. Prime Minister Meloni called the signing of the contracts by the heads of Eni and NOC “a very important, historic step” in the cooperation between the countries.
Two platforms will be built to extract the gas; In addition, a plant for CO2 capture and storage is planned on the mainland, as Eni further announced. Eni is the largest gas producer in Libya and claims to be responsible for 80 percent of the production volume.
The new investments are intended to promote industry in the civil war country and create jobs, according to the partially state-owned Italian group. In its search for alternatives to Russian gas and oil, Italy made a deal with Algeria just a few days ago. Rome is increasingly turning to North African countries for energy security, hoping to become a hub for oil and gas from Africa en route to the European Union.
