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to the North African country, albeit her present at the event. Republic after withdrawing from the 2015
predecessor, Mario Draghi, visited Algiers However, in order to do so, Italy will nuclear deal, or JCPOA. The waiver was
twice last year. have to consistently expand its domestic gas then subject to further extensions.
The visit’s main goal was to consolidate network and build new energy corridors to Rhum was the third largest gas
diplomatic and commercial ties and secure Germany, Austria and Switzerland. producing field in the British North Sea in
a contract for increased gas exports. The On the sidelines of the official visit, the second quarter of 2019, according to
details of the deal had, for the most part, Meloni and the Algerian Prime Minister, Serica CEO Mitch Flagg.
been negotiated by Mario Draghi during his Abdelmadjid Tebboune, visited a garden Serica acquired its 50% of field from
previous visits last summer. in Algiers dedicated to Enrico Mattei, the British Petroleum last year.
The deal, signed with the Algerian state- founder of the Italian energy company Eni, Iran’s share of the proceeds from Rhum
owned gas company Sonatrach, grants Italy who supported Algeria in its independence earnings are deposited in an escrow
the shipment of further 9bn cubic metres of fight with France in the 1950s and early account.
gas in addition to the supply already flowing 1960s. Rhum is located 205 miles northeast of
through the TransMed pipeline. Meloni announced last December Aberdeen, Scotland. The field is situated
This vital infrastructure connects Algeria that her government’s new plan for in 109 metres of water. It commenced gas
to Sicily through Tunisia and under the Africa would be named “Piano Mattei”, production and export on December 20,
Mediterranean Sea; its expansion has after the entrepreneur who perished in a 2005.
already been planned, aiming to augment mysterious plane crash in 1962. Meloni
the current capacity of 33.5 bcm per year. has repeatedly declared that one of her
However, according to Eni’s CEO priorities is to reaffirm Italy’s leading role Aker BP selects TechnipFMC for
Claudio Descalzi, who accompanied Meloni in the Mediterranean – not least to improve
to Algiers, “[The current capacity] is still stability and security in North African subsea tie-in projects in North
under-utilised. There are still more than 10 countries in order to stem the flow of
bcm that can reach Italy”. illegal migrants attempting to reach Sicilian Sea
Speaking at the press conference, shores.
Meloni said: “Today Algeria is our first gas Mattei’s figure is almost revered in Oilfield services firm TechnipFMC said
supplier. I have witnessed the signing of two Algeria and still highly praised in Italy. His Tuesday it had won a “large” integrated
agreements between Eni and Sonatrach: a policies towards Africa were regarded as engineering, procurement, construction,
deal to reduce greenhouse gases [GHGs] unusually fair in the 1960s, when he offered and installation (iEPCI) contract by with
for sustainable development, and a second Algeria and Tunisia a 50-50 partnership the Norwegian offshore oil company Aker
landmark deal to further increase Algerian for extracting their oil – as opposed to the BP for its Utsira High development. For
gas supplies to Italy (and therefore the American and British oil giants, which TechnipFMC, a “large” contract is between
EU), plus the planning of a new pipeline to granted African countries much lower $500 million and $1 billion.
transport hydrogen and enable Algeria to margins at the time. The Utsira High Project is a bundle of
produce LNG. In sum, a promising energy three separate subsea tie-in projects in
mix that could shield Italy from the ongoing the central part of the North Sea, offshore
energy crisis”. US extends waivers for Norway.
Algeria has quickly become Italy’s top Symra will be a tie-in to the Ivar
gas supplier and has proved to be a reliable operations at Iranian-British Aasen platform, while Solveig phase 2
partner to help Rome wean itself off Russian and Troldhaugen will be connected to the
gas, which last year accounted for nearly North Sea gas field Edvard Grieg platform.
40% of the country’s imports – making Italy TechnipFMC will engineer, procure,
the second major EU economy most reliant The US Treasury has extended sanctions construct, and install the subsea production
on Russian gas after Germany. waivers enabling UK-registered Serica systems, controls, pipelines, and umbilicals
Algeria already supplied around 30% Energy to operate its Rhum gas field licence for the development.
of Italy’s natural gas needs in 2021, before in the North Sea, with the field 50%-owned The contract follows a two-year
Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. It currently by the National Iranian Oil Company integrated front-end engineering and
makes up 38% of the country’s imports. (NIOC), Serica has announcedx. design (iFEED) study to optimize field
The new deal is a step forward in Rome’s A two-year exception issued by the layout.
co-operation with Algiers, and reflects Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control The Utsira High Project develops
Italy’s ambition to become a transit hub for (OFAC) allows companies such as oilfield recoverable resources of 124 million barrels
African gas to be transported further north services companies to operate in the field oil equivalent. Drilling will commence in
to other EU countries. despite National Iranian Oil Company the third quarter of 2025, while production
“We want Italy to become a European (NIOC) being under US sanctions. start-up is scheduled for the first quarter of
hub for Algerian gas. A junction for other The one-year waiver was first granted in 2026 for Solveig and Troldhaugen, and the
EU countries,” said Algeria’s ambassador October 2018 after US president Donald first quarter of 2027 for Symra.
to Rome, Abdelkrim Touahria, who was Trump re-imposed sanctions on the Islamic

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