“I am pleased to announce today that Eni has been selected as a partner in this unique strategic plan,” said the Qatari Energy Minister and CEO of Qatar Energy (QE), in partnership with Total Eni to develop the largest gas field worldwide.
Qatar announced today that it has selected the Italian energy giant Eni as its second foreign partner, after the French TotalEnergiesfor the development of the largest gas field in the world.
“I am pleased today (…) to announce that Eni has been selected as a partner in this unique strategic plan” in the world, “said Qatar’s Energy Minister and CEO Qatar Energy (QE), Saad Serinda Al-Kaabi, at a press conference in Doha.
As part of a joint venture with the hydrocarbon giant of Qatar, the Eni takes a stake in just over 3% of the $ 28 billion North Field East (NFE) project, which aims to increase Gulf State liquefied natural gas (LNG) production by 60% by 2027.
The share of TotalEnergies, whose agreement with QE until 2054 was announced on June 12, will be the most significant, at 6.25%, according to its CEO Patrick Pouyane. The French company’s most important agreement with Qatar helps to offset its withdrawal from Russia after the war in Ukraine.
A third signature is expected to be announced at a press conference to be given tomorrow, Monday, following talks that began in 2019.
The participation of foreign companies is expected to reach about 25%.
The North Field East project (NFE), where production is expected to begin in 2026, envisions the expansion of the North Field offshore field, the world’s largest gas field that Qatar shares with Iran.
The Northern Field accounts for about 10% of the world’s known gas reserves, according to QE. It extends under the sea to Iranian territory, where the Islamic Republic’s efforts to exploit its share of the field are hampered by international sanctions.
Qatar is one of the largest producers liquefied natural gas (LNG) in the world, along with the United States and Australia, and “the least expensive source of supply at the moment,” explains Daniel Toleman, a Wood Mackenzie analyst.
After the war in Ukraine, LNG importers rushed to provide alternatives to Russian gas.
Eni announced yesterday, Friday, that Gazprom delivered only 50% of the gas requested by the Italian energy giant.
Italy is mobilizing
The Italian government has started taking initiatives to address the reduction of gas supplies from Russia, which in recent days has reached 50%.
Next Tuesday, a “technical” meeting will be held at the Rome Ministry of Ecological Transition with the heads of the country’s companies that manage the gas supply and the relevant network, with the aim of a detailed analysis of the situation. A new meeting is scheduled for Wednesday, Italian Minister of Ecological Transition Roberto Tsingolani and the heads of these companies are expected to take part in the summit.
As the Corriere della Sera writes today, the Italian Hydrocarbon Group Eni has decided that will no longer publish the results of contacts and requests to Gazprom, in order not to affect, indirectly, the selling price of Russian gas.
At the same time, Corriere confirms that the main goal of the Italian Government at this stage is increase the rate of gas storage as much as possible in view of winter. The whole effort aims to cover 80% of the storage limit by October. «For now, the only thing we should avoid is to stay with our arms crossed“, Said the CEO of the Eni group, Claudio De Scalzi, in an event of the newspaper La Repubblica.
De Scalzi added that gas supplies from new suppliers should be increased (new agreements are planned with Algeria), but did not rule out that in the winter in Italy some measures may have to be implemented to partially reduce gas supplies.
Due to the big heat wave that hits Italy and the relative water shortage, finally, these days the operation of two units that produce hydroelectric energy was forced to stop in the country.
