AfrOil: Sonatrach agrees to supply Italy with additional gas

Algeria’s national oil company (NOC) Sonatrach has cut a deal with the Italian major Eni to deliver an additional 9bn cubic metres of natural gas in 2022-2023. The two sides signed a new supply agreement during Italian Prime Minister Mario Draghi’s visit to Algeria on Monday, April 11.

The extra supplies should help Italy cope with supply challenges arising from the Russia-Ukraine war, which has led the EU and its member states to look for alternatives to Russian gas. Italy has been importing about 40% of its gas supplies from Russia, but it is now looking into other options.

Algeria was Italy’s second-largest gas provider in 2021, delivering about 21 bcm via the TransMed pipeline, which runs from the Hassi R’Mel field through Tunisia to Sicily. Russia, by contrast, exported around 29 bcm of gas to the Italian market via overland pipeline last year.