President El-Sisi Meets Eni’s CEO

alhadath – cairo

Today, President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi received Chief Executive Officer of the Italian company Eni Claudio Descalzi. The meeting was attended by Prime Minister Dr. Mostafa Madbouly, and Minister of Petroleum and Mineral Resources Eng. Karim Badawi. From the company’s side, attendees included Chief Operating Officer Global Natural Resources Mr. Guido Brusco, General Manager of Eni in Egypt Mr. Francesco Gasparri, and Deputy General Manager of Eni in Egypt Mr. Mahmoud Aboul Yazeed.

Spokesman for the Presidency Ambassador Mohamed El-Shennawy stated that the President began the meeting by welcoming Eni’s CEO, expressing his appreciation for the ongoing cooperation between the Egyptian State and Eni, particularly the Italian company contributes about 40% of Egypt’s natural gas production. President El-Sisi also commended the company’s community role through its support for numerous development projects in Egypt.

For his part, Eni’s CEO expressed his pride in the fruitful cooperation between the two sides. He lauded the efforts of the Egyptian State to facilitate procedures for investors, which benefits both parties. He also reiterated his company’s keenness to foster its role as one of the largest operators in Egypt’s energy market, given the promising opportunities the sector holds, whether related to local production or export abroad.
Mr. Descalzi noted that, in cooperation with its partners, the company intends to inject additional investments into the Egyptian market totaling $8 billion over the next five years in the areas of developing existing fields and undertaking further exploration.

The Minister of Petroleum and Mineral Resources praised the existing cooperation with Eni, appreciating the company’s interest in increasing cooperation with the Egyptian government through expanding production operations in the recent period. He also commended the company’s activity in Egypt, both in the petroleum sector and its community role in supporting local communities.

The meeting also reviewed the latest developments in the company’s work, activities, and projects in Egypt, as well as its future plans for gas exploration and production in the country. The discussions stressed the company’s commitment to its strategic relationship with Egypt, in light of Egypt’s pivotal role as a regional hub for energy trade and liquefied natural gas (LNG) production. The discussion also touched upon the company’s intention to inject investments in other sectors such as mining in the coming period. Furthermore, the two sides reviewed the developments in the linkage of the Cypriot Cronos field with Egyptian infrastructure to strengthen Egypt’s position as a regional energy and gas trade hub.

President El-Sisi emphasized the significance of continuing the fruitful cooperation between Egypt and the company by expanding exploration and production activities and efforts in Egypt. This aims to achieve the optimal utilization of Egypt’s natural resources and the gas and energy sector, given the Egyptian State’s commitment to continuously developing the country’s investment climate. The President also stressed the State’s commitment to paying the dues of foreign partners, considering this essential for supporting the company’s efforts to expand in production and exploration.