Italy to import more natural gas from Algeria

Italian Premier Mario Draghi secured a deal on Monday for more natural gas imports across a Mediterranean pipeline from Algeria, in the latest push by a European Union nation to reduce dependence on Russian energy following its invasion of Ukraine.

Draghi told reporters in the Algerian capital after meeting with President Abdelmadjid Tebboune that an agreement to intensify bilateral cooperation in the energy sector along with the deal to export more gas to Italy "are a significant response to the strategic goal" of quickly replacing Russian energy.

Russia is Italy's biggest supplier of natural gas, representing 40 per cent of total imports, followed by Algeria, which provides some 21 billion cubic meters of gas via the Trans-Mediterranean pipeline.

The new deal between Italian energy company ENI and Algeria's Sonatrach would add up to 9 billion cubic meters of gas from Algeria, just eclipsing Russia's current 29 billion cubic meters a year. The increased flows will start in the fall, ENI said in a statement.