Eni will invest around 24 billion euros ($26 billion) in Algeria, Libya and Egypt over the next four years to boost North African energy production, the Italian energy firm’s CEO, Claudio Descalzi, said on Tuesday.

Each country will receive around 8 billion euros worth of investments, Descalzi said.

Descalzi said that the three countries could play a crucial role as hydrocarbon suppliers for Europe but first require investment to expand energy production and meet growing domestic demand. For example, Egypt looks to become a major gas exporter after Eni discovered the Zohr offshore gas field there in 2015, but domestic gas production in the country has been waning since 2021, reaching a six-year low in 2024. Throughout 2023 and 2024, Egypt struggled to keep the lights on, with regular power outages due to being unable to meet its domestic energy demand. 

"Internal demand in these countries — because of demographic growth — is increasing at about 7% to 8% every year. This means they need gas … they need investment," Descalzi said on Tuesday at an energy conference in Ravenna, Italy, where he announced the 24 billion euro investment.