CEO of Italian oil major Eni visits Libya to lay groundwork for relaunching natural gas exports to Italy via Greenstream pipeline

Rachel Carter

Rachel Carter

ROME , September 12, 2011 () – The chief executive of Italian oil and gas giant Eni visited Tripoli on Monday to lay the groundwork for relaunching gas exports to Italy via the Greenstream pipeline, the company said.

CEO Paolo Scaroni said his meeting with representatives of Libya's National Transitional Council and the National Oil Company marked the first such international corporate meeting in the Libyan capital since the popular uprising that overthrew Libyan dictator Moammar Gadhafi.

Scaroni has set Oct. 15 as an admittedly "ambitious" deadline to resume the natural gas flow from Libya to Italy via the Greenstream pipeline, which can carry roughly 10 billion cubic meters of natural gas per year. It hasn't been operational since late February.

The roughly 310-mile (520-kilometer) pipeline runs from Mellitah, Libya to Sicily.

In a statement, Eni said Scaroni visited local staff at Eni's Tripoli offices to discuss restarting oil and gas production and establish "the necessary measures to recover exports" via Greenstream.

Scaroni went to Benghazi on Aug. 29 to sign an agreement with the former rebels to restart Greenstream and help assess the country's oil infrastructure. Four other international energy companies have also resumed a presence in Libya, the transitional council has said.

"Our priority is the quick recovery of Libyan gas export towards Italy, aiming to guarantee Italy with the security of supplies," Scaroni was quoted as saying. He has previously expressed concern about getting the supply to Italy resumed before winter. Italy also obtains gas from Tunisia and Russia via Ukraine.

Before the protests against Gadhafi in mid-February morphed into a full-scale civil war, Eni was producing 273,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day in Libya, which sits atop Africa's largest proven reserves of conventional crude.

AS-image © 2024 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

Share:

About Us

We deliver market news & information relevant to your business.

We monitor all your market drivers.

We aggregate, curate, filter and map your specific needs.

We deliver the right information to the right person at the right time.

Our Contacts

1990 S Bundy Dr. Suite #380,
Los Angeles, CA 90025

+1 (310) 553 0008

About Cookies On This Site

We collect data, including through use of cookies and similar technology ("cookies") that enchance the online experience. By clicking "I agree", you agree to our cookies, agree to bound by our Terms of Use, and acknowledge our Privacy Policy. For more information on our data practices and how to exercise your privacy rights, please see our Privacy Policy.