Page 11 - AfrOil Week 04 2023

AfrOil POLICY AfrOil

Meloni (L) and Tebboune (R) met on January 24 (Photo: ANSA)
Speaking at the press conference, Meloni said: Touahria, who was present at the event.
“Today Algeria is our [largest] gas supplier. I However, in order to do so, Italy will have to
have witnessed the signing of two agreements consistently expand its domestic gas network
between Eni and Sonatrach: a deal to reduce and build new energy corridors to Germany,
greenhouse gases [GHGs] for sustainable Austria and Switzerland.
development and a second landmark deal to On the sidelines of the official visit, Meloni
further increase Algerian gas supplies to Italy and the Algerian Prime Minister, Abdelmadjid
(and therefore the EU), plus the planning of a Tebboune, visited a garden in Algiers dedicated
new pipeline to transport hydrogen and enable to Enrico Mattei, the founder of the Italian
Algeria to produce LNG. In sum, a promising energy company Eni, who supported Algeria in
energy mix that could shield Italy from the its independence fight with France in the 1950s
ongoing energy crisis”. and early 1960s.
Algeria has quickly become Italy’s top gas Meloni announced last December that her
supplier and has proved to be a reliable partner government’s new plan for Africa would be
to help Rome wean itself off Russian gas, which named “Piano Mattei”, after the entrepreneur
last year accounted for nearly 40% of the coun- who perished in a mysterious plane crash in
try’s imports – making Italy the second major 1962. Meloni has repeatedly declared that one
EU economy most reliant on Russian gas after of her priorities is to reaffirm Italy’s leading role
Germany. in the Mediterranean – not least to improve sta-
Algeria already supplied around 30% of Ita- bility and security in North African countries
ly’s natural gas needs in 2021, before Russia’s in order to stem the flow of illegal migrants
invasion of Ukraine. It currently makes up 38% attempting to reach Sicilian shores.
of the country’s imports. The new deal is a step Mattei’s figure is almost revered in Alge-
forward in Rome’s co-operation with Algiers, ria and still highly praised in Italy. His policies
and reflects Italy’s ambition to become a transit towards Africa were regarded as unusually
hub for African gas to be transported further fair in the 1960s, when he offered Algeria and
north to other EU countries. Tunisia a 50:50 partnership for extracting their
“We want Italy to become a European hub for oil – as opposed to the American and British oil
Algerian gas. A junction for other EU countries,” giants, which granted African countries much
said Algeria’s ambassador to Rome, Abdelkrim lower margins at the time. ™

Ghana starts selling fuel to domestic

distributors under “gold for oil” scheme

GHANA GHANA has begun selling petroleum products The Bulk Oil Storage and Transportation
purchased under the “gold for oil” arrangement, Company (BOST), according to the radio sta-
starting with the fuel from the United Arab tion, sold the first consignment to state-owned
Emirates (UAE) , reports Accra-based Joy FM. GOIL and other companies.

Week 04 26•January•2023 www. NEWSBASE .com P11