What will change for Eni in Algeria
Eni has announced a new discovery of oil and gas in Algeria, which may prove to be important for Italy for the purpose of detaching energy from Russia. All the details
On March 20, Eni and the Algerian oil company Sonatrach announced the discovery of new gas and oil resources in the Berkine basin, in Algeria.
THE NUMBERS
Hydrocarbons were discovered in the onshore concession of Zemlet el Arbi, operated by the joint venture between Eni (which owns 49 per cent) and Sonatrach (which holds 51 per cent).
According to estimates, the new resources amount to about 140 million barrels of oil.
From April in the concession of Zemlet el Arbi a second well will be drilled, indicated with the initials HDLE-2. In all, Eni and Sonatrach aim to drill five wells in the North Berkine concessions. The increase in production will increase the share of hydrocarbons that can be exported.
WHAT ENI DOES IN ALGERIA
Eni has been present in Algeria since 1981 and is the most important international energy company active in the country. It operates in both the hydrocarbon and renewable sources sectors.
In 2020 Eni produced 19 million barrels of oil and condensates and 1.6 billion cubic meters of natural gas in Algeria. It has a photovoltaic capacity of 5 megawatts, but is working on the expansion of the Bir Rebaa North photovoltaic plant.
Last December Eni signed an oil contract with Sonatrach in the Berkine basin and a memorandum of understanding for cooperation on the energy transition.
THE IMPORTANCE OF ALGERIA FOR ITALY
Algeria is at the center of the Italian government's plan for the diversification of gas supplies and the detachment from Russia, currently the largest (clearly) supplier with a 43 percent share of the total imported.
In 2020, Algeria was Italy's second largest supplier of gas, with a share of almost 23 percent of the total imported. Algerian gas arrives in Italy through the TransMed pipeline: the pipeline has a capacity of 30 billion cubic meters per year; in 2021 it was exploited for 21 billion.
On February 28, Foreign Minister Luigi Di Maio visited Algiers, accompanied by Eni's CEO, Claudio Descalzi, to strengthen energy cooperation: they met with Algerian Foreign Minister Ramtane Lamamra and with the representatives of the state-owned energy company Sonatrach. According to the diplomatic sources cited by Rai News , they let it be known that Algeria has shown its willingness to "increase gas supplies to Italy in the short, medium and long term".
According to Platts Analytics estimates, in 2022 Algeria will be able to supply Europe with another 7 billion cubic meters of gas mainly through TransMed. A further increase in supply could come with the expansion of Medgaz (the pipeline with Spain) and of liquefied gas plants.
Looking ahead, however, Algeria presents two problems: one is internal political instability, which could paralyze supplies (as is already the case in Libya); the other is the growing national demand for gas (before the pandemic, the average annual increase from 2010 to 2019 was more than 6 per cent), which reduces the quantities that can be exported.
QATAR, AZERBAIJAN AND MORE
In the Italian plans for the emancipation of Russia there is liquefied gas from Qatar, Congo and Angola (but regasification plants are needed ). Then there is Azerbaijan with TAP: it has a capacity of 10 billion cubic meters per year, possibly expandable up to 20 billion.
As reported by Energy Capital & Power , Eni intends to activate a liquefied gas project in Congo in 2023, in the Marine XII block. The site is estimated to have a liquefaction capacity of nearly 2 million tons per year. The gas will be destined both for Congolese consumption and for export.
This is a machine translation from Italian language of a post published on Start Magazine at the URL https://www.startmag.it/energia/eni-algeria-scoperta-risorse-petrolio-gas/ on Mon, 21 Mar 2022 14:57:33 +0000.