Italian oil and gas company Eni SpA (E) will soon boost its natural gas imports from Libya to at least 10 billion cubic meters a year from the current 8 billion, business daily Il Sole-24 Ore reports Sunday.
Eni Chief Executive Paolo Scaroni and Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi also discussed a plan to have Eni take part in a venture in the south of Libya that would use gas to supply power to neighboring countries Nigeria and Chad, the daily said.
Since the start of the year, Italy's been seeking to boost its gas supplies from beyond Russia, which last winter slashed deliveries of gas to Europe due to a pricing dispute with Ukraine.
Algeria is the biggest exporter of gas to Italy, closely followed by Russia. The underwater pipeline with a current annual capacity of 8 billion cubic meters of Libyan gas represents about 10% of Italy's annual needs.
In his first visit to Italy, which ended Saturday, Libyan leader Gadhafi told Italian entrepreneurs their companies have priority for investments in the North African country, as the two nations mark the start of better relations.