Eni plans to squeeze out an additional 3bcm/y (290mn cfd) of gross gas from Algeria through “accelerated development at specific fields already discovered,” the Italian firm said after signing an MoU with state giant Sonatrach on 26 May.

Eni is already Algeria’s top foreign operator with net output of 54,000 b/d and 165mn cfd. But Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has seen the firm look to nearby gas producers Algeria and Egypt (MEES, 14 April) to shore up Italian energy security. It signed a deal with Sonatrach in April to boost contracted pipeline imports from the country by up to 9bcm/y (MEES, 15 April). Algeria supplied Italy with 21.2bcm through the 32.7bcm/y TransMed pipeline last year. (CONTINUED - 281 WORDS)