New agreement between Eni and SONATRACH to accelerate the development of gas projects and decarbonization through green hydrogen
The President of SONATRACH, Toufik Hakkar, and the CEO of Eni, Claudio Descalzi, today signed a Memorandum of Understanding in Rome aimed at accelerating the development of gas fields in Algeria and decarbonisation through green hydrogen. The signing, which took place at Palazzo Chigi in the presence of the President of the People's Democratic Republic of Algeria Abdelmadjid Tebboune, on a state visit to Rome, and of the Italian Prime Minister Mario Draghi, represents a further step in strengthening energy cooperation between Italy and Algeria and is in line with Eni's strategy of diversifying energy sources with a view to decarbonisation.
In particular, the Memorandum of Understanding will allow SONATRACH and Eni to evaluate the gas potential and the opportunities for accelerated development of some fields already discovered by Sonatrach in Algeria. The gas production volumes expected from the areas covered by the agreement, equal to approximately 3 billion cubic meters per year, will contribute, among other things, to increasing the export capacity of Algeria to Italy through the Transmed gas pipeline.
The Memorandum also provides for the technical and economic evaluation of a pilot project of green hydrogen in Bir Rebaa North (BRN), in the Algerian desert, which aims to contribute to the decarbonisation of the BRN gas plant operated by the JV SONATRACH-Eni GSE .
Eni is the most important international energy company operating in Algeria, where it has been present since 1981.