ALGIERS - The Executive Director of the Italian energy giant “ENI,” Claudio Descalzi affirmed, Monday, that his company’s relations with Algerian partners were “very privileged,” emphasizing that ENI’s investments in Algeria are set to exceed $8 billion.

Upon leaving the audience granted to him by the President of the Republic, Abdelmadjid Tebboune, Descalzi declared to the press: “I believe that the President was satisfied with what we accomplish. If we manage to carry out the projects in progress, our total investments will exceed $8 billion, which mirrors the importance of this partnership.”

The Italian official added that the talks with the President of the Republic had focused on questions related to “development in Algeria and not only on natural gas and oil.”

After hailing the “very privileged” relations that ENI maintains with Sonatrach, the Ministry of Energy, Mines and Renewable Energy, as well as with all the partners in Algeria, Descalzi underscored that the contract signed today with Sonatrach, concerning the exploration and exploitation of hydrocarbons on the contractual perimeter of “Zemoul El Kbar” (province of Ouargla), will allow “to increase production without delay thanks to an investment of nearly $1.3 billion.”