Eni's CEO Claudio Descalzi yesterday met with an Algerian delegation led by SONATRACH CEO Toufik Hakkar. The partnership between the two companies was further strengthened.
The CEO of Eni, Claudio Descalzi, and the President General Manager of the Algerian state company SONATRACH, Toufik Hakkar, met yesterday at the Eni headquarters in San Donato Milanese to take stock of common activities and to sign various agreements in the areas exploration and production, research and development, decarbonisation and training. These agreements represent a further step forward in strengthening the partnership between the two companies.
The first of the signed agreements aims to implement an ambitious program for the relaunch of exploration and development activities in the Berkine basin region and envisages the creation of a gas and crude oil development hub through a synergy with existing MLE installations. CAFC. This agreement is part of the process for the finalization of a new hydrocarbon contract in the basin, under the aegis of the new Algerian oil law which came into force in December 2019.
With a view to strengthening and increasing the cooperation already in place in the technological field and to continue the decarbonization path undertaken to support the transition towards a low carbon future, Claudio Descalzi and Toufik Hakkar signed a Memorandum of Understanding for the development of the partnership between Eni and SONATRACH in the field of new technologies, with a focus on renewable energy, biofuels and hydrogen.
Eni and SONATRACH have also agreed on the methods of collaboration in other sectors such as staff training, through the signing of an agreement that provides for cooperation between Eni Corporate University and the Institut Algerien du Petrole for the implementation of training programs in the fields Upstream and new technologies related to the energy transition.
At the end of the meeting, the CEO of Eni thanked the PDG and the members of the SONATRACH delegation for their constant collaboration and the friendly and fruitful relationship: "The signing of today's agreements testifies to the commitment made by our companies to strengthen a historic partnership, in compliance with a shared strategy of accelerated development of projects and pursuing the objectives of decarbonisation as part of the commitment to achieve our carbon neutrality goal ".
Eni has been present in Algeria since 1981 where it is the operator of 48 mining permits. With an equity production of 90 barrels of oil equivalent per day, Eni is the most important international company in the country.