28′ Jan”2023″ Reuters
Italian energy company Eni and Libya’s National Oil Corporation (NOC) signed an $8bn gas production deal aimed at boosting energy supplies to Europe despite the insecurity and political chaos in the North African country.
The agreement, signed on Saturday during a visit to the capital Tripoli by Italy’s Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, aimed to increase gas output for the Libyan domestic market, as well as exports through the development of two offshore gas fields
This agreement will enable important investments in Libya’s energy sector, contributing to local development and job creation while strengthening Eni’s role as a leading operator in the country,” said its chief executive, Claudio Descalzi.
Meloni met Libya’s Prime Minister Abdulhamid al-Dbeibah, head of the internationally recognised Government of National Unity (GNU) in Tripoli for talks that also focused on migration across the Mediterranean
At a joint news conference with Descalzi, the NOC chief, Farhat Bengdara, said the gas deal had a duration of 25 years and called it the most important new investment in Libya’s energy sector for a quarter of a century.
European countries have increasingly sought to replace Russian gas with energy supplies from North Africa and elsewhere over the past year because of the war in Ukraine.
Italy has already taken a lead in sourcing gas from Algeria, building a new strategic partnership there that includes investment to help state energy company Sonatrach reverse years of declining output.
Taking the lead
European countries have increasingly sought to replace Russian gas with energy supplies from North Africa and elsewhere over the past year because of the war in Ukraine.
Italy has already taken a lead in sourcing gas from Algeria, building a new strategic partnership there that includes investment to help state energy company Sonatrach reverse years of declining output
However, deals struck in Tripoli may be undermined by Libya’s internal conflict, which has divided the country between rival factions who vie for control of the government and dispute each other’s claims to political legitimacy.
Underscoring the uncertainty, Dbeibah’s own Oil Minister Mohamed Oun had rejected any deal that NOC might strike with Italy, saying in a video on the ministry website such agreements should be made by the ministry.
At a round table with Dbeibah, Meloni repeated her remarks from Algeria, saying that, while Italy wants to increase its profile in the region, it does not seek a “predatory” role but wants to help African nations “grow and become richer”.
Instability, increased domestic demand and underinvestment has hampered Libya’s gas deliveries abroad, according to Matteo Villa of the Milan-based ISPI think tank. New deals “are important in terms of image”, Villa said.
