Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni said during a visit to Algeria on Wednesday that the two countries would work together towards “increasing deliveries of Algerian gas” to the EU member state.
“We have decided to reinforce our already very solid cooperation through our national champions,” Meloni said, referring to Italian energy major ENI and Algeria’s Sonatrach.
The two would work together on projects including shale gas extraction and offshore exploration, she said at a press conference alongside Algerian President Abdelmadjid Tebboune.
Algeria provides around 30 percent of Italy’s natural gas, mainly via the TransMed subsea pipeline.
That pipeline is already at full capacity, experts told AFP, although Algeria also sends shipments of liquefied natural gas.
Italy, which generates more than 40 percent of its electricity from natural gas, according to the International Energy Agency, has been negotiating with various countries to replace lost LNG supplies from Qatar.
Qatar, which shut down production after Iran repeatedly attacked its major LNG site, usually provides around 10 percent of Italy’s gas imports.
Experts told AFP that Algeria had some capacity to increase its LNG shipments, but not on a scale sufficient to replace Qatar.
The North African country, a key supplier to several EU members, including Spain, produces only half as much LNG as the tiny Gulf state.
Building new extraction and export capacity, especially offshore projects, can take many years.
On the war in the Middle East, Meloni said that “if it were to drag on, it could have significant economic and social consequences for vulnerable countries in Africa”.
