INTERVIEW: Eni eyeing near-term African gas amid European energy crisis, says Africa head

Eni's Baleine project in Cote d'Ivoire, which will produce 20,000 b/d of oil equivalent as its phase 1 comes online next month, will be at the heart of an Africa strategy focused on near-term gas projects that can help fill energy shortages in Europe, the Italian company's head of sub-Saharan Africa told S&P Global Commodity Insights.

In an exclusive interview, Mario Bello said Eni, which was able to exploit its decades-long presence in Africa to quickly boost production following Russia's invasion of Ukraine, would spend more than 50% of its total upstream capex in Africa in the coming years but would remain highly selective about the types of projects it invests in.

"Upstream remains at the core of the strategy, leveraging exploration and the ability to move fast into development, with a shift toward gas and advantaged barrels, in countries where we are already present close to facilities, to move quickly on the development in case of success to ensure production increases and energy security," Bello said.

Eni boasts assets across north and sub-Saharan Africa, including flagship projects in the Republic of Congo, Cote d'Ivoire, and Mozambique, and claims a turnaround time from discovery to production of 3.5 years on average.

European energy crisis

"Africa has become even more important after the recent [European energy] crisis for us, it's the place where we could find additional supply, both through pipeline and LNG," Bello said. "We believe gas will be needed more and more in the next decades. Our production mix will change significantly in the next 10 years, shifting toward gas, especially in Africa."

The Baleine oil and gas play in Cote d'Ivoire, where discoveries were made in 2021, will produce 20,000 boe/d from the end of June or the start of July, Bello said. In the coming years, it will be phased up to 150,000 boe/d.

Meanwhile, the long-awaited Congo LNG project will come onstream in late 2023, he said. Currently the phase 1 floating LNG unit is undergoing refurbishment in Dubai.

In addition, Mozambique, where Eni's Coral South project dispatched its first cargo in November, could soon see further E&P activity, Bello said. "We are looking at other projects on the huge resource base of Area 4, [which contains the Rovuma Basin] ... we are committed to the country," Bello added. Production remains years away for other international oil companies, including TotalEnergies, whose onshore Mozambique project has faced delays due to a violent insurgency in gas-rich Cabo Delgado.

Mattei plan

Eni, which plans to take advantage of heightened African energy demand in the future, currently provides gas to the domestic market for power generation in Egypt, Libya, Tunisia, Congo-Brazzaville, Algeria, Ghana, Nigeria, and soon Cote d'Ivoire.

Italy's prime minister Giorgia Meloni hopes to transform the country into a distribution hub for African gas imported to Europe to fill Russian shortfalls, owing to an Italy-Africa energy strategy to be released in December under the "Mattei plan," which is named after the founder of Eni.