As Europe takes action to reduce imports of Russian gas following the invasion of Ukraine, the search is on for alternative suppliers. North Africa is one of the most promising regions of interest.

The region is ostensibly well positioned to take on at least part of the task. In addition to its geographic proximity, it offers close commercial ties with Europe, gas pipelines already in place, significant gas reserves and existing infrastructure such as gas liquefaction plants and export terminals.

Recognizing this opportunity, Italy’s Eni has moved quickly to capitalize on North Africa’s untapped potential. Counting on its longstanding presence in the region, Eni has signed recent deals with both Algeria and Egypt to maximize production and increase exports.

“Eni is quite well placed, I would say even perhaps uniquely placed in its portfolio, simply because of its large presence in Algeria, its large presence in Egypt, where it’s the largest oil and gas producer, and it also has both gas pipeline options from Algeria and LNG options from Egypt,” Noah Brenner, executive editor at Energy Intelligence, told Al-Monitor. “There is no other company within the region that has the variety of opportunities that [Eni] has to bring gas directly to Italy and Europe.”