Libya-Italy: signing of a "historic" agreement between ENI and NOC in the gas sector

Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni during a press conference in Tripoli, Libya, January 28, 2023. REUTERS - HAZEM AHMED

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It is an important contract which was signed this Saturday morning January 28 in Tripoli: the ENI group is going to invest 8 billion dollars in the development of offshore gas sites in the north of Libya.

Eventually, 850 million cubic meters of gas per day will be produced.

Italy thus aims to become a new energy hub between Africa and Europe.

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Proof of the importance of this contract: the head of the Italian government Georgia Meloni made the trip to Tripoli this Saturday.

A high-level visit, the first of its kind for Italy since

.

During the signing, the boss of the Libyan national hydrocarbon company declared that this 25-year gas agreement was the most important investment in the Libyan energy sector for a quarter of a century.

A partnership described as " 

 " by Claudio Descalzi, CEO of ENI, which will allow " 

" in the energy sector, " 

 " in Libya and the strengthening of the position of ENI which is already “the

 ” with 80% of Libyan gas production.

Important economically, but also geopolitically.

Indeed, Europe since the war in Ukraine seeks to diversify its imports.

The researcher Kader Abderrahim, a specialist in Libya, also recalls that the

last week to sign major gas contracts and that a trip is even envisaged to Egypt which, according to him, " 

 ”.  

A trip is also planned for the very beginning of February to Egypt, which contains significant gas layers in the Mediterranean.

So, I believe that there is a will on the part of Italy to invest in a new field which is perhaps also bringing out a new geopolitics of energy on the occasion of this war in Ukraine which is reshuffling the cards.

We see that Italy's strategy is to avoid being dependent on a single partner and at the same time this gives it a certain legitimacy to reinvest in a geopolitical space that it had somewhat neglected in recent decades. , researcher Kader Abderrahim told RFI.

Kader Abderrahim, researcher specializing in Libya

Houda Ibrahim

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• Italy

• Libya

• Energies

• Giorgia Meloni