Algeria’s Sonatrach and Italy’s Eni Cement Strategic Gas Partnership
Africa · Northern
Key Facts
—The Core Agreement. On 11 April 2022, Sonatrach and Eni signed a deal in Algiers to boost gas flows through the TransMed pipeline to 9 billion cubic metres annually by 2023–24.
—Political Weight. The signing was witnessed by Algeria’s President Abdelmadjid Tebboune and Italy’s then-Prime Minister Mario Draghi, signalling deep state backing.
—Strategic Rebalancing. The accord formed the cornerstone of Italy’s successful drive to replace Russian gas with North African supply after the invasion of Ukraine.
—Upstream Expansion. The partnership deepened in July 2025 with a $1.35 billion production-sharing agreement for the Zemoul El Kbar zone in the Berkine Basin.
—Enduring Infrastructure. The TransMed pipeline, with a capacity of roughly 32 bcm/year, remains the physical backbone of a four-decade energy relationship.
The landmark Algeria gas supply deal between Sonatrach and Eni, signed in April 2022, fundamentally redrew the Mediterranean energy map by turning Algeria into Italy’s foremost gas supplier and creating a durable template for Europe’s post-Russia supply architecture.
The Anatomy of a Landmark Agreement
On 11 April 2022, in a ceremony at the presidential palace in Algiers, Sonatrach CEO Toufik Hakkar and Eni CEO Claudio Descalzi put their signatures to a document that would reshape European energy flows. The agreement committed the two state-backed giants to progressively increase gas deliveries through the TransMed pipeline, reaching a plateau of up to 9 billion cubic metres per year by 2023–24.
The presence of President Tebboune and Prime Minister Draghi elevated what could have been a routine commercial extension into a visible act of energy diplomacy. It was a clear signal that both Rome and Algiers intended to use their deep, four-decade gas relationship as a strategic anchor in a suddenly unstable world.
Italy’s Fast Move in a European Scramble
The urgency behind the deal was unmistakable. Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022 triggered a seismic shift in energy geopolitics, forcing European capitals to confront an uncomfortable dependency on Russian gas, which in 2021 accounted for roughly 45 percent of the bloc’s imports.
Italy moved faster than almost any other major European economy. Because it already possessed the TransMed infrastructure and a trusted supplier relationship with Sonatrach, Rome could pivot within weeks rather than years, agreeing in May 2022 to a broader target of raising TransMed flows from 21 bcm to 30 bcm by the end of 2023.
By the end of 2022, more than 20 bcm of Algerian gas had flowed to Italy, making Algeria the country’s foremost energy supplier and displacing a significant share of Russian volumes. This was not merely a commercial transaction but a deliberate act of strategic rebalancing that turned Italy into Europe’s southern energy gateway.
From Supply Deal to Upstream Partnership
The 2022 supply agreement did not stand alone; it catalysed a deeper integration of Eni into Algeria’s upstream sector. In July 2025, Sonatrach and Eni signed a $1.35 billion production-sharing agreement for the Zemoul El Kbar contractual zone in the Berkine Basin, located about 300 kilometres east of the supergiant Hassi Messaoud field.
That 30-year deal, which includes a seven-year exploration phase and a possible 10-year extension, targets an estimated 415 million barrels of oil equivalent, including 9.3 bcm of gas over the contract life. Eni’s broader project portfolio in Algeria is expected to lift gas production to 5.5 bcm per year by 2028, backed by more than $8 billion in total investments.
The evolution from buyer-seller to co-investor locks in mutual dependence. For Eni, it secures long-term access to reserves; for Sonatrach, it brings the capital and technical expertise needed to monetise complex fields while preserving state control over the resource base.
The Great-Power Contest in the Mediterranean
The Algeria-Italy gas axis fits squarely into the wider contest over who controls energy security in the Mediterranean, a theatre that has become central to the great-power competition analysed in our pillar, Africa: The New Scramble. Russia’s diminished role as Europe’s dominant external gas supplier created a vacuum that North African producers, led by Algeria, moved rapidly to fill.
Algeria now supplies roughly 11 percent of imported European gas, a share that gives it genuine political leverage in Brussels, Rome, and beyond. The country has skilfully positioned itself as a swing supplier for Europe’s southern flank, able to balance relationships with Italy, France, and the wider European Union without becoming overdependent on any single customer.
For Italy, the deepening ties with Algeria also serve Rome’s ambition under Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni to act as Europe’s main Mediterranean energy hub, a role that strengthens Italian influence over both pipeline flows and the politics of the southern EU border. Eni functions here as an instrument of state interest as much as a commercial enterprise.
What the Algeria Gas Supply Deal Means for Africa and the Global South
For readers watching Africa’s resource diplomacy from Latin America or other corners of the Global South, the Sonatrach-Eni partnership offers a compelling case study in how a state-owned African enterprise can convert geological endowment into geopolitical weight. Algeria has not simply sold gas; it has used energy as a tool of statecraft to deepen ties with a major European economy and attract billions in foreign investment.
The model echoes resource-nationalist strategies seen in other BRICS and frontier markets, where governments leverage critical minerals and hydrocarbons to renegotiate their place in the global order. Algeria’s ability to secure long-term contracts, upstream partnerships, and political recognition from a G7 capital demonstrates that the post-2022 energy landscape has strengthened the hand of well-positioned producer states.
The arrangement also highlights the enduring importance of pipeline infrastructure in an era often dominated by LNG headlines. The TransMed corridor, with its roughly 32 bcm annual capacity, provides a fixed, hard-to-replicate physical link that locks buyer and seller into a relationship far stickier than spot-market LNG trades.
What to Watch Next
The partnership is not static. As recently as March 2026, Reuters reported that Italy was still seeking additional Algerian gas volumes as disruptions in other producing regions tightened global supply, confirming that the relationship remains operational and strategic rather than merely historical.
Investors and analysts should watch for further upstream awards in the Berkine Basin, any renegotiation of pricing formulas as European benchmark rates evolve, and the potential for Algeria to leverage its gas position in broader trade and migration negotiations with the European Union. The Sonatrach-Eni axis has become one of the most consequential energy partnerships on the continent, and its next chapter is already being written.
Connected Coverage
Frequently Asked Questions
What exactly did the April 2022 Sonatrach-Eni deal achieve?
The agreement committed the two companies to increase gas deliveries through the TransMed pipeline to up to 9 billion cubic metres per year by 2023–24. Signed in the presence of the Algerian president and Italian prime minister, it served as the foundation for Italy’s rapid pivot away from Russian gas and established Algeria as Italy’s top energy supplier.
How does the 2025 production-sharing agreement differ from the 2022 supply deal?
The 2022 agreement was a gas-supply contract governing volumes and transport through an existing pipeline. The July 2025 deal is a $1.35 billion upstream production-sharing agreement for the Zemoul El Kbar zone, making Eni a co-investor in exploring and developing Algerian reserves over a 30-year horizon rather than simply a buyer of produced gas.
Why is the TransMed pipeline so important to European energy security?
The TransMed pipeline, with a capacity of roughly 32 billion cubic metres per year, is one of the few direct physical gas corridors linking North Africa to Europe. It provides a fixed, reliable transport route that cannot be redirected or disrupted as easily as seaborne LNG, making it a strategic asset for both Algeria as a supplier and Italy as a gateway to the broader European market.
Sources
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