Italy, which imports about 95% of the gas it consumes, is one of the European countries most dependent on Russian gas. The Italian Prime Minister announced on Monday during a visit to Algiers an agreement with Algeria for the increase of its gas exports to the peninsula
Following a meeting with Algerian President Abdelmadjid Tebboune, Mario Draghi announced an agreement between the Italian energy group ENI and the Algerian state giant Sonatrach for the latter to supply more gas to Italy.
“Our governments have signed a statement of understanding on bilateral cooperation in the energy sector,” he told reporters. “Immediately after the invasion of Ukraine, I announced that Italy would quickly organize itself to reduce its dependence on Russian gas. Today’s agreements are a significant response to achieving this strategic objective and others will follow,” he added.
Mario Draghi did not provide a figure but ENI specified in a press release that the agreement “will make it possible to exploit the available transmission capacities of the gas pipeline (Transmed) to ensure greater flexibility in energy supply, and to gradually supply increasing volumes of gas from 2022, up to 9 billion cubic meters of gas per year in 2023-24.”
First customer
Algeria, one of Italy’s main trading partners, is its second gas supplier, behind Russia, from which 45% of the peninsula’s gas imports come. Italy had imported during the first quarter of 2021 a total of 6.4 billion cubic meters, an increase of 109% compared to 2020, according to the official Algerian agency APS.
The gas sales contract between the two countries was renewed in May 2019 for a period of eight years until 2027. According to the agency, the visit of Mario Draghi, at the invitation of the Algerian president “consolidates historic cooperation, narrower and narrower in all areas but especially in gas”. The Algerian public hydrocarbon giant Sonatrach declared itself at the end of February ready to supply more gas to Europe, by routing it in particular via the Transmed gas pipeline linking Algeria to Italy, via Tunisia.
“Unused Capacity”
Sonatrach “has unused capacity on the Transmed gas pipeline”, which could be used to “increase supplies to the European market”, assured its CEO, Toufik Hakkar. The gas could also be liquefied and sent through LNG carriers, knowing that “the liquefaction units that exist in Algeria are only operated at 50/60% of their capacity”, according to the former Algerian minister and CEO of Sonatrach.
Mario Draghi’s visit comes at a time when relations between Algeria and Spain are strained after Madrid aligned themselves with the Moroccan rival’s positions over the disputed territory of Western Sahara.
Part of the Algerian gas arrived last October in Spain through another gas pipeline, the GME, passing through Morocco. Since the fall, Algiers has closed it after the break in late August of diplomatic relations with Rabat.
