Italy, Egypt sign deal to boost LNG exports to Europe 

The Egyptian Natural Gas Holding Company (EGAS) and Italy’s Eni yesterday signed an agreement to maximise gas production and the export of liquefied natural gas (LNG) from Egypt to Europe.

The agreement was signed in the Egyptian capital city of Cairo by EGAS Chairman, Magdy Galal, and Eni’s Director General of natural resources, Guido Brusco, in the presence of Egyptian Prime Minister, Mostafa Madbouly, Petroleum Minister, Tarek El-Molla, and Eni CEO, Claudio Descalzi.

The Egyptian cabinet said in a statement that the agreement had come “within the framework of strategic partnerships between Egypt and Italy in many fields, especially the energy field, where Eni is a strategic partner for the Egyptian petroleum sector.”

“The agreement aims to exploit Egypt’s great potential in the field of research and exploration, especially in the Nile Delta, the Eastern Mediterranean, and the Western Desert,” the statement added, noting that under the agreement, Egypt would launch “campaigns to intensify the search and exploration operations in its current concession sectors and the areas it recently acquired.”

The cabinet described the deal as an “opportunity” to export shipments of liquefied gas from Egypt’s Damietta Gas Liquefaction Plant to Italy or Europe.

Since the Russian invasion on Ukraine and the international sanctions imposed on Moscow, many European countries have been seeking alternatives for gas importers to replace Russian supplies.

Russian gas amounts to 40 percent of Italy’s total gas imports. In a similar context, Italy signed on Monday an agreement with Algeria to obtain additional gas quantities of up to 9 billion cubic meters by 2023.

READ: Algeria to increase natural gas exports to Italy by 50%