Italy Signs $8B Gas Deal With Libya Despite Ongoing Political Turmoil

8 billion dollars. That's how much Saturday's gas deal between Italy and Libya's Tripoli based government is worth. The agreement, signed during a visit by Italy's Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, will tap Libya's offshore gas reserves, boosting both the domestic market and exports. But analysts warn that any deal with Libya comes with risks, where a deep political divide is paralyzing the government and raising risks of renewed violence.

Under the deal, Italian energy giant Eni will develop two offshore gas fields, with goals of reaching an output plateau of 21 million cubic meters per day by 2026. The chief of Libya's National Oil Corporation hailed the deal as the country's most important energy investment in a quarter century. Prime Minister Meloni who was on an energy trip to Algeria a week earlier, is working to shore up alternatives to Russian gas. Moscow which also has close ties with Algeria and Libya's eastern government, is currently seeing its energy exports to Europe dry up over its continuing assault on Ukraine.

Guests:
Abdennour Toumi
North Africa Researcher at ORSAM

Umberto Profazio
Associate Fellow at IISS