ECONOMY

Algeria, Italy sign gas agreement

ALGIERS- Sonatrach and Italian group ENI signed Monday, in Algiers, an agreement in the field of gas, in the presence of President of the Republic Abdelmadjid Tebboune and Italian Prime Minister Mario Draghi, Sonatrach said in a statement.

"In the presence of President of the Republic Abdelmadjid Tebboune and Italy's Prime Minister Mario Draghi, as well as the delegations of the two countries, the chief executive officer of Sonatrach, Toufik Hakkar, and the general manager of ENI, Claudio Descalzi, signed today an agreement to speed up the development of natural gas production projects, by combining the efforts of the two companies, and to increase the volume of exported gas through the available capacities of Enrico Mattei gas pipeline (Transmed)," the statement said.

The agreement will also allow the two companies to "set the levels of the new purchase prices of natural gas, in line with the market conditions for the years 2022-2023, and in accordance with the price review clauses," the statement said.

The agreement confirms the "strong" collaboration between the two companies in hydrocarbon exploration and production as well as in new and renewable energies, such as solar energy, hydrogen, biofuel, capture and storage through the use of CO2, the statement said.

It also shows the desire of ENI, a strategic partner, to continue its investments with Sonatrach and to strengthen its presence in Algeria.