Eni, Sonatrach progress for hydrogen production in Algeria

Eni (an Italian multinational oil and gas company) and Sonatrach (the state-owned oil company of Algeria) have progressed towards materialising their plan for producing hydrogen in Algeria.

The executives of two companies Toufik Hakkar, the CEO of Sonatrach, and Alessandro Puliti, the General Manager of Eni – Natural Resources, met in Algiers to review the progress of Eni’s activities in the country.

Both companies have agreed to expedite collaboration in the technological field, particularly in the hydrogen sector, to cut carbon emissions. Both will continue to cooperate under the Memorandum of Understanding, the two companies signed last March in Milan, Italy, with a specific focus on hydrogen production.

Eni and Sonatrach plan to jointly assess the technical and commercial feasibility of a pilot project to produce hydrogen using power produced from solar and wind sources. Moreover, to preserve the scarce water resources in Algeria, the electrolysis process will use water produced by oil fields which will be treated through dedicated plants.

Both partners stressed the importance of cooperation for reducing the carbon footprint of their respective activities. The ongoing works aim to improve the energy efficiency of the processes, the electrification of treatment plants, the abatement of methane emissions and dedicated projects for new zero-emission energy solutions.

Eni has been operating in Algeria since 1981, with an equity production of 90k barrels of oil equivalent per day.