Giorgia Meloni visits Tripoli as Libya signs an $8 billion gas exploration deal with Eni

Italy’s prime minister held talks in Libya on Saturday with officials from the Tripoli-based government on energy and migration, top issues for Italy and the European Union.

During the visit, the oil companies of the two countries signed an $8 billion gas deal

(7.36 billion euros), the largest single investment in Libya’s energy sector in more than two decades.

Libya is the second North African country that Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, who has been in office for three months, visited this week. She is trying to secure new natural gas supplies to replace Russian energy during Moscow’s war against Ukraine. She previously visited Algeria, which has become Italy’s largest energy supplier since the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

Meloni landed at Mitiga Airport, the only functioning airport in Libya’s capital, Tripoli, amid tight security, accompanied by Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani and Interior Minister Matteo Piantedosi, her office said. She met Abdel Hamid Dbeibah, who heads one of Libya’s rival governments, and held talks with Mohamed Younis Menfi, who chairs Libya’s ceremonial presidential council.

During a roundtable discussion with Dbeibah, Meloni echoed her comments from Algeria, saying that while Italy wants to raise its profile in the region, it is not seeking a “predatory” role, but wants to help African nations “grow and become richer.”

An $8 billion deal to develop Libya’s offshore gas

During the visit, Claudio Descalzi, the CEO of Italy’s state-owned energy company ENI, signed an $8 billion deal with the Libyan National Oil Corporation to develop two Libyan offshore gas fields. NOC chairman Farhat Bengdara also signed.

The deal includes the development of two offshore fields in block NC-41, north of Libya, and ENI said they would begin pumping gas in 2026, an estimated 750 million cubic feet per day, the Italian company said in a statement.

Meloni, who attended the signing ceremony, called the deal “significant and historic” and said it will help Europe secure energy resources.

“Libya is clearly a strategic economic partner for us,” Meloni said.