Italy and the Republic of Congo on
Thursday signed an accord to increase the supply of gas from the
African country to Italy as Rome looks to cut its reliance on
Russian gas amid the Ukraine war.
Foreign Minister Luigi Di Maio, Ecological Transition Minister
Roberto Cingolani, accompanied by the CEO of energy giant Eni,
Claudio Descalzi, met Congo Minister of Foreign Affairs,
Francophonia and Congolese Abroad, Jean-Claude Gakosso.
The ministers then signed a declaration of intent with Congo's
minister for hydrocarbons, Bruno Jean Richard Itoua.
The fuels minister then signed an energy accord with Descalzi.
Di Maio said it was urgent to cut Italy's dependence on Russian
gas, which currently amounts to 40% of total gas supplies.
"The partnership between Italy and Congo comes from a long way
away," he said after the deal was sealed.
"With today's stage here a very important mission for the
Italian government in this region has concluded," Di Maio said
referring to a similar accord with Angola reached Wednesday.
"Russian aggression has led Italy to diversify its sources.
"It is a top-priority objective for Italy to reduce our
dependence on Russian gas.
"We are building new accords.
"We are aiming to mitigate energy costs for households and we
have an energy security plan".
Di Maio added that "both (Premier Mario) Draghi and Cingolani
ever since the first day have been working on a cap on gas
prices as a way of averting speculation: this must be a priority
for the EU. It is Italy's line: we have not spoken of vetoes and
we expect support for this proposal".
Eni said the accord with Congo foresees "the acceleration and
increase of gas production in Congo, firstly via the development
of a liquefied natural gas (LNG) project projected to start in
2023 and a capacity once on line of more than three million
tonnes a year (over 4.5 billion cubic metres/year)".
The energy giant said exports of LNG "will enable us to valorize
the production of gas in excess of Congolese domestic demand".
Earlier Di Maio said the EU is united in its determination to
cut reliance on Russian gas amid the Ukraine war.
In a message sent to the inauguration of the first offshore wind
farm in the Mediterrenean, built by Renexia at Taranto in
Puglia, Di Maio said "within the ambit of the European Union we
are promoting a cohesive action aimed at emerging from our
dependence on Russia".
He said the EU was also trying to "mitigate the impact of energy
market fluctuations on our economies and societies, maintaining
at the same time the commitment on the objectives of the Green
Deal".
Di Maio said that "the Italian government, with the foreign
ministry in the front line, promptly acted to diversify supply
sources, prevent further tensions on global energy markets,
boosting cooperation with strategic partners in the
Mediterranean and beyond.
"In the last few weeks I went on missions to Algeria, Qatar,
Angola, Congo, Mozambique and Azerbaijan with the aim of further
developing energy cooperation with current suppliers with great
potential".
Draghi was also meant to go on the Angola and Congo trip but had
to pull out because he has contracted COVID-19. Nevertheless,
Draghi on Wednesday conferred by phone with Angolan President
João Manuel Gonçalves Lourenço on energy cooperation to help
seal the deal.
Draghi also had a phone conversation with Congo President De'
nis Sassou N'Guesso Tuesday morning and agreed on the "wide
potential" for bilateral partnership, in particular in the
energy sector.
Italy currently imports around 40% of the gas it uses from
Russia.
Cingolani said in an interview with Thursday's La Stampa that
Italy should be able to end its reliance on Russian gas within
18 months, having previously said it could take up to three
years.
Italy recently signed an important agreement to increase the 31%
of gas it gets from Algeria too.
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