Karim Badawi, Egypt's Minister of Petroleum and Mineral Resources, recently embarked on an official visit to Italy to discuss ways to enhance cooperation between Egypt and the Italian energy giant, Eni, in the fields of oil and gas. The visit underscores the strategic partnership between the two nations and Egypt's ongoing efforts to attract more investment in the energy sector, contributing to economic development and ensuring energy supply security in the region as part of Egypt's ambition to become a regional energy hub. During the visit, Minister Badawi held an extensive meeting with Claudio Descalzi, CEO of Eni, and conducted a field visit to the company's research and electronic laboratories. He also participated in a comprehensive meeting with Eni's teams focusing on new energy, biofuels, carbon capture and storage, and asset preservation. Minister Badawi emphasized the depth of Egyptian-Italian relations, particularly in the energy sector, noting that the longstanding collaboration with Eni reflects mutual trust and the significant potential of Egypt's petroleum sector. He expressed his eagerness to bolster and expand cooperation to achieve greater success, highlighting the importance of sharing mutual success stories. Eni executives expressed their pride in the strategic partnership with Egypt and praised the positive developments in Egypt's petroleum sector, noting the country's efforts to create an attractive investment environment. They reaffirmed Eni's commitment to strengthening its presence in the Egyptian market and exploring additional investment opportunities. Both sides agreed on the importance of ongoing dialogue and coordination to enhance their cooperation, aligning with the strategic goals of both parties in the energy sector. The visit also included discussions on enhancing collaboration in exploration and production, accelerating the development of announced discoveries to boost production, and reviewing the new incentives package introduced by Egypt's Ministry of Petroleum to encourage increased oil and gas production. Eni welcomed these measures and emphasized the importance of utilizing modern technology to improve productivity. Furthermore, the meeting explored cooperation in developing Eni's fields in Cypriot waters and accelerating their connection to existing facilities to leverage Egypt's infrastructure, benefiting all parties involved. The discussions also touched on energy transition, clean energy initiatives, carbon emission reduction technologies, and biofuels. Eni confirmed the start of operations for three drilling rigs belonging to Agiba Petroleum Company in the second week of this month, aiming to restore production levels to their previous rates. Minister Badawy was accompanied by Moataz Atef, Assistant Chairperson of EGAS for Technical Office and Special Projects and Operational Safety, along with Guido Brusco, Eni's Chief Operating Officer of Natural Resources.
