General – Italy
Right at this very moment, Italy’s foreign minister is visiting Algeria with its top energy CEO to discuss cooperation in light of the Ukraine crisis.
The move comes as Western governments step up efforts to tap alternative gas supplies to reduce their reliance on Russia after its invasion of Ukraine.
Natural gas is regarded as the cleanest fossil fuel – but it’s not a replacement for renewable energy sources like wind and solar, as it still emits a large amount of methane.
The foreign office announced that minister Luigi Di Maio is travelling to Algeria with Eni Chief Executive Claudio Descalzi and a representative of the energy transition ministry.
Eni has a series of long-term gas contracts with Algerian gas monopolist Sonatrach and is one of the country’s biggest foreign energy producers.
