MILAN, July 7 (Reuters) – Italy’s Eni (ENI.MI) is looking at producing green hydrogen in Algeria with state-owned Sonatrach as the two energy groups move to cut their carbon footprints.
At a meeting in Algiers, the two companies said they planned to build on an agreement signed last March and step up technological cooperation with a focus on hydrogen.
The move comes as Eni picks up the pace on a major overhaul launched last year as it transitions into renewables and tapers off its oil and gas output.
“A road map was outlined for the joint assessment of the technical and commercial feasibility of a pilot project to produce hydrogen using electricity generated from renewable (solar and wind) sources,” Eni said in a statement.
To preserve Algeria’s water supply, the idea of using water produced by oil fields would be considered for the electrolysis process involved in producing hydrogen, Eni said.
Eni, the biggest foreign company in the country, has an equity production in Algeria of 90,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day.
