The Egyptian Ministry of Environment, through the Bioenergy Foundation for Sustainable Development, signed a cooperation agreement with Italian energy company Eni to advance biogas production and contribute to Egypt’s clean energy transition, the Petroleum and Mineral Resources Ministry said in a statement.
The agreement, which was signed in port, read that it would prepare a full feasibility study for biogas production units that process agricultural and animal waste and was attended by Petroleum Minister Karim Badawi, Local Development Minister and Acting Environment Minister Manal Awad, and Governor Mohab Habashi Khalil.
Andrea Marsanich, manager of Eni’s carbon offset solutions, and Yasser Abdullah, the chairman of the foundation’s board of trustees, attended the event along with Francesco Gaspari, managing director of AIOC, Eni’s Egyptian subsidiary.
The programme aligns with Eni’s four-year regional investment plan of €24 billion ($26.2 billion) in Algeria, Libya, and Egypt as part of the Mattei Plan of the Italian government to deepen energy and economic relations with Africa.
“Karim Badawi, Minister of Petroleum and Mineral Resources, stressed the importance of using this advanced technology in all governorates of the republic,” the Ministry of Petroleum and Mineral Resources wrote in an official post.
“He noted that the petroleum sector is ready to provide all necessary support and contribute effectively to the implementation of sustainable development projects, most notably biogas units, through sector companies spread across the country in cooperation with foreign petroleum companies operating in Egypt,” it added.
According to Badawi, this assistance is a crucial component of the industry’s corporate social responsibility to the communities surrounding petroleum operations, which aims to enhance resource efficiency and encourage local development.
Awad revealed that Egypt’s efforts to increase international collaboration and public-private partnerships to advance biogas technology, lower emissions, and produce sustainable energy from animal and agricultural waste are reflected in the agreement.