The performance of Zohr gas field in Egypt is better than that of bigger fields in Russia, Eni's head of natural resources told Reuters on Tuesday. "The field's performance is in line with our plans and better than that of bigger fields in Russia." Eni's natural resources chief operating officer Guido Brusco said. The Italian energy group is planning to invest around $3.5 billion in Egypt over four years in activities including exploration and management of existing fields, Brusco said. Last year, Eni, Italy's largest importer of natural gas, reacted fast to a decline in the supply of Russian gas by shipping increasing volumes from Africa to its home country. "Africa is a continent where much investment is needed even in the traditional exploration and production business," In the next few years, Eni sees Algeria and Egypt's role consolidating and a potentially larger role for Libya and several sub-Saharan countries, including Republic of Congo and Angola, Brusco added. That is why the company is rolling out multi-billion investments to guarantee exports to Italy, serve the African market, and get ready to ship more gas to Europe. Eni is Africa's biggest international natural gas producer, Brusco said, adding that over 90 percent of the fuel the group extracted in the continent last year went to the African market. "Fields are declining but 80 percent of global energy demand is still based on fossils, so while cleaner sources are being developed it's necessary to manage oil and gas reduction… particularly in Africa where the population is growing and development is accelerating," Last year, Eni's production in Egypt stood at 346 kilo barrels of oil equivalent per day (KBOED).
