Eni locks down Egyptian LNG framework
Eni has signed an agreement to supply more LNG from its Egyptian upstream portfolio in partnership with the national government, furthering the Italian major's efforts to source non-Russian gas flows in light of the Ukraine war.
Egypt's petroleum and mineral resources ministry said in an April 13 social media post that it had secured a framework with Eni to optimise its gas reserves, mainly through joint venture "opportunities" that could rapidly ramp up LNG output in the near term. The framework agreement was signed by Eni and Egypt's state gas holding company Egas.
Egypt was once a net importer of gas, but it has invested heavily to utilise its internal resources. It now ships around 1.6bn ft3/day and has two LNG export and liquefaction plants: Damietta (5.6mn metric tons/year) and Idku (7.2mn mt/yr). Eni participates in Damietta through its 50% share in operator SEGAS.
The war in Ukraine has led Eni to strengthen several African gas deals to meet Italian demand and reduce the share of Russian imports. It already has a strong upstream presence in multiple key African markets, and its CEO Claudio Descalzi has said 14 trillion ft3 of gas reserves could be leveraged in the short or medium term to bolster European gas flows.
The company is also extending its Algerian upstream presence and agreed on April 11 to beef up piped deliveries to Italy through the 40.2bn m3/yr Transmed link, increasing Algerian exports toward 9bn m3/yr by 2024. An asset merger in Angola that combines BP and Eni's assets was finalised last month, and Eni is also progressing fast LNG technology to catalyse 1.4mn mt/yr of liquefied gas from Republic of Congo.