Italy and Saudi Arabia discussed on Monday possible partnerships and joint investments in the oil and gas and mining sectors, Italian Industry Minister Adolfo Urso said after meeting with Saudi officials in Riyadh.
Italy and Saudi Arabia discussed potential partnerships and joint investments in the energy sector, especially in critical raw materials, in Italy, Saudi Arabia, and third countries, such as those in Africa, Urso said in a statement on Monday after meeting with Khalid Al Salem, President of the Royal Commission for Jubail and Yanbu.
The officials also discussed investments in Italy and Saudi Arabia in industrial sectors, including oil and gas, automotive, defense, green technologies, hydrogen, and aerospace, Minister Urso added.
Representatives of several major Italian companies, including engineering group Maire Tecnimont and energy and telecoms cable maker Prysmian, took part in the meeting, Urso added.
Before arriving for talks in Saudi Arabia, the Italian minister visited Qatar for talks with the Qatari Minister of Commerce and Industry, Sheikh Mohammed Bin Hamad Al-Thani.
The ministers discussed in Doha boosting commercial and industrial ties with a focus on energy, construction, real estate, and digital technology.
In the energy sector, Urso pitched Italy as a potential European gas hub and a hub for blue and green hydrogen thanks to the infrastructure at the port of Trieste in northeastern Italy, the Italian industry ministry said.
Italian and Qatari energy firms boosted their cooperation last month after QatarEnergy signed another 27-year agreement to ship LNG to Europe by agreeing to deliver cargoes for Eni in Italy beginning in 2026, after similar deals with Shell and TotalEnergies for supply to the Netherlands and France, respectively.
Under the deal with Eni, QatarEnergy and the Italian major will deliver LNG to FSRU Italia, a floating storage and regasification unit located in the port of Piombino, in Italy's Tuscany region.
By Tsvetana Paraskova for Oilprice.com
Tsvetana is a writer for Oilprice.com with over a decade of experience writing for news outlets such as iNVEZZ and SeeNews. More