Tunis, 2 July 2019 – Today, Claudio Descalzi, CEO of Eni, and Slim Feriani, Tunisian Minister of Industry, signed the new agreement for transporting Algerian natural gas through Tunisia, in the presence of the Prime Minister of Tunisia, Youssef Chahed.

The agreement follows the ones reached with Sonatrach last May, in relation to the purchase of gas and transport in the Strait of Sicily (the TPMC system) and completes the contractual framework that allows Eni to import Algerian gas into Italy.

With this agreement, Eni undertakes to operate the pipeline for the next 10 years, through its subsidiary Trans Tunisian Pipeline Company (TTPC), ensuring necessary reinvestment for modernising infrastructure and taking advantage of the exclusive rights to the entire transport capacity.

Built in the early 1980s and strengthened subsequently over several phases, the trans-Tunisian pipeline consists of two lines, 48 inches wide and around 370km long, from the Algerian-Tunisian border near Oued Saf to the Cap Bon headland, as well as five compression stations. With a transport capacity of approximately 34 billion m³/y, it plays a key role in Italian and Tunisian energy supply and will continue to do so. It contributes to the diversification of sources and to the energy transition in the Italian market.

Finally, the agreement represents a further confirmation of Eni's long-standing commitment to North African countries, not only in hydrocarbon exploration and production, but also in managing transport infrastructure, marketing petroleum products, the chemical sector and producing energy from renewable sources.