Egypt could become Mediterranean gas hub: Eni CEO

Following recent discoveries, Egypt could become a gas hub in the Eastern Mediterranean with an export corridor to Europe, Eni CEO Claudio Descalzi  stated.

At a Foreign Commission Senate hearing, Descales said “we discussed our strategy in Egypt as part of the Eastern Mediterranean hub, thanks to its infrastructures and its great discoveries, and the possibility of including and linking Israeli and Cypriot discoveries, as well as exports to Italy and Europe.”

He added that Italy’s role could grow “because we have the infrastructures and the storage. We have excess capacity, around 100 billion cubic metres of gas. We use 65 billion and therefore could export a reverse flow to Switzerland, Austria and Germany. In this respect, both Italy and Spain could play a prominent role. Egypt has taken on a new lease of life and, furthermore, has the facilities. This is important, because it means lower investments and faster growth. It is a major opportunity for Egypt, for the whole region, and also for Europe.”

In response to a question on the effects of doubling the capacity of the Suez Canal, Mr Descalzi stressed that the works “would have largely positive effects on Egypt’s transport. This might further benefit gas from Mozambique, and therefore facilitate interchange and transport in terms of speed.”

Source: Agenzia Giornalistica Italia (AGI – Italian Journalist Agency)