In early May, Eni announced a very ambitious investment plan of $26.24 billion.

At the moment when the global energy landscape is constantly being reshaped, North Africa is becoming the focus of attention of global energy giants, and the Italian energy group Eni (Eni) has recently made frequent moves, planning to invest huge sums of money in Algeria, Libya and Egypt in North Africa, which has attracted widespread attention inside and outside the industry

This is not a whim, but is based on a deep understanding of North Africa's energy potential and a precise consideration of its own strategic layout. From the perspective of energy supply, the three North African countries have unique geographical advantages, close to the European energy consumption market, relatively low oil and gas transportation costs, and rich energy resources, but limited by capital and technology, unable to fully tap the potential.

Eni has invested nearly $9 billion in Algeria and Libya, and Egypt has similar amounts, and there are far-reaching considerations behind this. Algeria is a major producer and exporter of natural gas in Africa, and its natural gas fields are dotted, and Eni's investment is expected to help it further improve production and production efficiency, and consolidate its important position in the European natural gas market. Libya has abundant oil reserves, and despite the volatile situation, Eni's layout undoubtedly sees great potential for the revival of its oil industry, and once the situation stabilizes, the recovery of Libyan oil production will bring considerable benefits to Eni.

Although Egypt's natural gas production has fluctuated since the discovery of the Zor offshore gas field, its energy exploration in the Eastern Mediterranean has broad prospects, and Eni's cooperation project with TotalEnergies to introduce natural gas from Cyprus to Egypt not only solves the problem of natural gas shortage in Egypt, but also makes it expected to become a natural gas exporter and change the regional energy trade pattern.

As Europe reduces its dependence on Russian natural gas, Italy intends to take advantage of North Africa's energy advantages to become Europe's energy hub, and Eni's presence in North Africa is a key step in Italy's efforts to achieve this goal.

From the perspective of global energy strategy, Eni and Chinese oil companies have their own focus and intertwined layout in North Africa. Eni's investments are more in line with Europe's energy transition goals, while Chinese oil companies are based on China's national energy security and strategic considerations for overseas energy distribution.

With the continuous evolution of the North African energy market, the two sides have both the possibility of competition and cooperation, and in the future, they may seek synergies in technology research and development, market expansion, etc., to jointly promote the development of the energy industry in North Africa.

The curtain of the North African energy market has been opened, whether it is Eni or China's oil companies, and every layout of large energy companies in North Africa will affect the pattern and direction of the international energy market in the future.(This article is from the official website of Seetao www.seetao.com. Reprinting without permission is strictly prohibited. Please indicate Seetao.com + original link when reprinting) Seetao.com Strategy Column Editor/Sun Fengjuan