Rome Jan 23, 2015 / agi /PPI — Europe and Italy will have to focus more on Africa in order to achieve greater energy security, Eni’s Ceo Claudio Descalzi said during a conference on “The future of energy, new sources and new markets for the United States and Europe”, jointly organized by Eni and the Aspen Institute.
Descalzi stated that “Europe and Italy should look at those complementary entities, such as North Africa, Sub-Saharan Africa and the Mediterranean area as a whole. Africa has huge energy reserves but little demand, while Europe has scarce energy reserves and great demand. Therefore we can say there is a strong complementarity between Europe and Africa”.
Descalzi added that “a North-South, South-North corridor connecting Italy, which already has the pipes, to Africa, would allow to pool resources and potentially lead to sustainable development in the African energy sector”.
Descalzi added that “We must find an alternative to the East-West corridor. Thanks to a North-South corridor we could create a virtuous alternative, leading to new investments, new technologies, new markets, and also fulfilling our energy needs. This project has an added value from an industrial point of view, since energy is not expensive. Moreover, it creates an African market which is expected to become a relevant market for the European production, and it guarantees a diversification of sources from an energetic point of view”.
“I believe” – Descalzi continued – “this issue is of great relevance on the international agenda, since we must think about tomorrow, when there will be a strong increase in gas demand. This is the right moment to prepare our future. There is currently an imbalance between the United States and Europe. We must necessarily fill this gap in a sustainable way by looking at Africa, which is our most important neighbor and that, due to its great potential, is an opportunity for Italy and Europe”.
According Mr Descalzi, Europe should also focus on the creation of “a better interconnection between European networks” in order to reduce the gap with the United States. “At European level, the first thing to do is to put together and to connect the whole transport and storage network, and to create a common regulatory framework” – concluded Descalzi.
About Eni – Eni in Africa
Eni is a leading international energy company operating in the oil and gas, electricity generation and sale, petrochemicals, oilfield services construction and engineering industries.
Eni operates in 85 different countries, with 82,300 employees throughout the world.
Eni’s presence in Africa dates back to 1954, when the company started its operations in Egypt. Today, Africa provides more than half of Eni’s entire production of oil and natural gas, making the company the continent’s leading international operator. Thanks to recent exploration campaigns, Eni has laid the ground for significant growth prospects in Africa with important discoveries in Angola, Congo, Gabon, Ghana and Mozambique.
