OREANDA-NEWS. The Italian oil and gas company Eni has signed an agreement to increase gas production in Egypt, as well as to increase the supply of liquefied natural gas (LNG) to Europe, Reuters reports.

The Italian side took this step at a time when Europe stepped up its efforts to find alternative sources of gas imports to reduce its dependence and refuse gas from Russia.

Not only Egypt can help the country in this: Italian Prime Minister Mario Draghi previously made a deal to increase fuel imports from Algeria to replace part of the 29 billion cubic meters that the country receives from Russia.

Eni discovered the supergiant Zohr gas field in Egypt in 2015. The company claims to have reached an agreement with the Egyptian Natural Gas Holding Company (EGAS) to increase gas production and enhance exploration at existing and new fields. The agreement could lead to shipments to Europe this year of up to 3 billion cubic meters. LNG.

Eni owns a stake in Egypt's Damietta LNG plant with a capacity of over 7.5 billion cubic meters. in year. Its largest shareholder is the state.

Earlier, Austrian Chancellor Karl Nehammer said that Russian President Vladimir Putin assured him of the stability of gas supplies for the euro.