The Italian government has reached an agreement with Algeria to increase the volume of gas Algeria will supply in order to reduce Italy's reliance on Russian gas in the future.
Following a meeting with Algerian President Abdelmadjid Tebboune in Algiers on Monday, Italian Prime Minister Mario Draghi said: "Right after the Russian invasion of Ukraine, I announced that Italy would move as quickly as possible to reduce its dependence on Russian gas. Today's agreements are a significant step towards this goal. And there will be more to come."
Italy's deal with Algeria means that it will receive up to 9 billion additional cubic metres of gas from Algeria during 2023 and 2024.
In 2021, around 21 billion cubic metres, or 28% of Italy's gas imports, came from Algeria, while Russia supplied at least 38%.
Draghi was accompanied to Algiers by Italian Foreign Minister Luigi Di Maio and the head of the partly state-owned energy company Eni.
