Italy's Eni signs $8 billion Libya gas deal as PM Meloni visits Tripoli - REUTERS

January 29, 202310:06 AM GMT+2

Gavin Jones

ROME/TRIPOLI, Jan 28 (Reuters) - Italian energy company Eni and Libya's National Oil Corporation (NOC) signed an $8 billion gas production deal on Saturday aimed at boosting energy supplies to Europe despite the insecurity and political chaos in the North African country.

The deal, signed during a visit to Tripoli by Italy's Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, aims to increase gas output for the Libyan domestic market as well as exports, through the development of two offshore gas fields.

Output will begin in 2026 and reach a plateau of 750 million cubic feet per day, Eni said in a statement.

"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.

New Italian govt aims to double national gas production - REUTERS

October 27, 202211:27 AM GMT+3

MILAN, Oct 27 (Reuters) - Italy plans to double its national gas production to 6 billion cubic meters (bcm) per year from the current 3 bcm, its industry minister said, in a further effort to cut the country's dependence on Russian supplies.

"One of our goals is to develop a plan that will make us as quickly as possible less dependent and will then turn us into the energy hub of the Mediterranean", Industry Minister Adolfo Urso told Il Messaggero daily in an interview published on Thursday.

The government will also authorise new offshore drilling in the Adriatic sea, he said, echoing the words of Italy's new Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, who said this week that Rome "has a duty to fully exploit" its offshore gas reserves to diversify energy sources.