Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi met with Eni CEO Claudio Descalzi in New Alamein on the Mediterranean coast on Tuesday as the North African nation seeks to revive domestic gas production and secure projects needed to advance ambitions to serve as a regional energy hub. 

The high-level meeting saw the Italian energy giant reveal it could reach a final investment ‌decision within months for the Denise West gas field, a major discovery announced in April 2026. The development is good news for Cairo, offering a signal of continued investment at a sensitive moment for Egypt’s energy sector, which is facing new risks amid fallout from the US-Israel-Iran war.

What happened: Descalzi used the meeting to brief Sisi on Eni’s recent investments and ongoing exploration campaign in Egypt, where the Italian firm is already a key player, producing roughly 242,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day as of 2025. 

Although no new deals were announced, Eni delivered an update on its offshore Mediterranean drilling campaign, which began in October 2025 and quickly produced the Denise West gas discovery. The field contains roughly 2 trillion cubic feet of gas and 130,000 barrels of condensate in place and is located about 45 miles offshore at a depth of 95 meters. According to a press release issued by the Rome-based firm, Denise West has “a strategic importance and is suitable for a fast-track development.”