Egypt’s President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi met with Claudio Descalzi, CEO, Eni, on Thursday to discuss the company’s activities in the country.
In attendance was also Egyptian Minister of Petroleum & Mineral Resources Tarek El-Molla.
The main topics of conversation were regarding Egypt’s production of natural gas and LNG. The country has aspirations of becoming a new energy hub in the Mediterranean. Eni is one firm playing a role in these aspirations, following the discovery of the Zohr gas field.
Currently, around 80% of gas produced by Eni is destined to be used in the domestic market for electricity generation, but the firm is committed to growing additional local production through more exploration and development.
Descalzi also highlighted Eni’s commitment to decarbonisation, noting previously stated commitments to decarbonised hydrogen technology at its Damietta liquefaction plant, and carbon capture and storage (CCS) projects aimed at producing blue ammonia.
“This project can be further expanded to decarbonize the industrial area of Damietta, with a total of 5 million tons of CO2 captured in the first phase. Furthermore, besides the existing initiatives to substitute gas with renewable energy sources, the parties discussed a wide solar power project for civilian use, with a range of several gigawatts,” Eni said in a statement.
Eni is a significant stakeholder in Egypt’s hydrocarbon ecosystem, producing approximately 360,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day.