Algerian President Abdelmadjid Tebboune on Monday signed an agreement with Italian Prime Minister Mario Draghi that aims to strengthen energy ties between the two countries, reported Reuters. As part of the deal, Italy will increase natural gas imports from Algeria by nearly 50 percent.
Italian Prime Minister Draghi said the agreement was a significant step in Italy’s drive to reduce its dependency on Russian gas.
“Others will follow,” he told reporters in the capital Algiers, after a meeting with Algerian President Tebboune.
Italy imports about 95 percent of the gas it consumes and is one of the European countries most dependent on Russian gas.
Last year Italy bought around 21 billion cubic meters of gas from Algeria, compared to around 29 billion from Russia, which currently supplies nearly 40 percent of the country’s needs.
Draghi said the gas deal with Algeria had been signed by the two country’s dominant energy players, Eni and Sonatrach. Algeria’s Sonatrach will send an additional 9 billion cubic meters of gas to Italy by next year and in 2024.No other details about the deal have been made available.
As part of a broader declaration of intent, Draghi said Italy was ready to work with Algeria to develop renewable energy and green hydrogen in order to accelerate the energy transition and create opportunities for development and employment in both countries.
Rome and Algiers already had a contract for gas deliveries up until 2027.
Notably, Italian ministers have been in search of alternative gas supplies since Russia invaded Ukraine on February 24. The Russian invasion has led to sweeping Western sanctions that threaten to disrupt energy flows, raising the possibility of gas shortages.
Last week, Roberto Cingolani, Minister of Energy Transition, said Italy is in talks with up to seven countries, including Algeria, to secure gas supplies.
Algerian President Tebboune is due to visit Rome at the end of May.
