As the Russia-Ukraine war drags on, ENI has completed its withdrawal from Russian gas. In the aftermath of Western sanctions, the Italian energy group, which posted revenues of €88.8bn ($96bn) and a profit of €2.6bn in 2024, has accelerated the shift in its investments to place an ever-greater emphasis on the African continent.

Led by Milanese physicist Claudio Descalzi since 2014, the company was importing around 30 billion cubic metres of gas from Russia in 2021, accounting for 43% of the group’s total gas imports.

However, with the sanctions imposed on Moscow following the outbreak of the war in Ukraine, this source of supply dried up. ENI has not received any Russian gas deliveries since January 2023 and closed its Moscow office in 2025.

It was largely in Africa that the group found the means to rebound, boosting its operations to increase imports and strengthen production. This successful strategic shift was accompanied by a diplomatic offensive on the continent.

In addition to the Italy-Africa Summit held in Rome in 2024, Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni has made numerous visits to the continent, notably to Algeria, Republic of the Congo and Mozambique, where the Italian group has major projects.

Algeria, Congo, Mozambique and Egypt

Estimated at around 5.22 billion cubic metres in 2020, imports of Algerian liquefied natural gas rose to 11.86 billion cubic metres in the wake of the war in Ukraine. Well-established in Algeria, ENI also launched short-cycle, low-intensity initiatives to boost production.

Following targeted optimisation work, the Touat field, acquired from Neptune in 2023 when it was not producing, exceeded 13 million standard cubic metres per day in 2025. At the same time, the group launched several major projects in Egypt, including Meleiha, Baltim SW, Bashrush and Faramid.

Meanwhile, the group’s gas production on the continent reached a peak of 27 billion cubic metres, driven by growth of more than 50% in LNG between 2021 and 2024.

“The African portfolio announced following the disruption of Russian supplies quickly translated into concrete, high-impact developments,” a group spokesperson told The Africa Report.

From Brazzaville to Luanda via Maputo, ENI has scaled up its presence. The world’s first floating LNG plant in ultra-deep waters, Coral South in Mozambique, has posted “exceptional” performance since 2022, with more than 135 LNG cargoes shipped to date.

Present in Angola through Azule Energy, a joint venture created with BP, ENI inaugurated a gas-processing plant last November with a processing capacity of around 400 million standard cubic feet of gas per day and 20,000 barrels of condensate per day. The project was launched in October 2023.

The same sustained pace can be seen in Republic of the Congo. Launched in December 2023, the first phase of Congo LNG entered production just over a year after project approval, while the second phase – marked by the arrival of the Nguya floating LNG unit – was initiated in December 2025, ahead of the original schedule.

The group is targeting a first LNG cargo in early 2026, which would raise the country’s export capacity to 4.5 billion cubic metres per year.

QatarEnergy, Venture Global contracts

At the same time, seeking to diversify its sources of supply, the Italian giant signed long-term contracts with QatarEnergy in 2023 and Venture Global in 2025 for the import of LNG from Qatar and the United States, the two industry heavyweights.

Deemed essential to the group’s growth strategy in the LNG market, these transactions do not call into question Africa’s long-term place in ENI’s portfolio.

Africa plays a decisive role in strengthening the energy security of Italy, Europe and global markets

Approved in October 2025, the Coral North floating LNG project in Mozambique is expected to produce its first gas in 2028. Designed to be “more efficient and higher-performing” than Coral South, the project should double Mozambique’s LNG production to 7 million tonnes per year and make the country a key link in global energy supply security.

In Libya, development programmes approved in 2023 are progressing in line with the established timetable, notably the offshore gas megaproject Structures A&E, budgeted at $8bn and targeting a plateau of 750 million standard cubic feet of gas per day from 2026.

In Côte d’Ivoire, the final investment decision for the third development phase of the offshore Baleine oil and gas field is expected in the first quarter of 2026.

“Africa remains the cornerstone of ENI’s diversification strategy and plays a decisive role in strengthening the energy security of Italy, Europe and global markets,” the group’s spokesperson said, noting that ENI’s total production on the continent stands at 900,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day.

Following discoveries in Namibia, Angola and Côte d’Ivoire, the group now aims to make exploration a key pillar of its strategy on the continent.

“In 2026, efforts will focus on accelerating appraisal and early development in order to bring these new resources to market as efficiently as possible,” the spokesperson said.