The Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, Sir Keir Starmer, and the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero of the United Kingdom, Ed Miliband, met with Eni Chief Executive Officer, Claudio Descalzi, in London to discuss Eni’s activities and upcoming projects in the Country, across the entire energy value chain (oil&gas upstream, renewables, CCS, potential future development of magnetic fusion projects).
Eni confirmed its role as a key player in the UK’s Net Zero Transition, where the company has a leading position in the fields of Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS) and Offshore Wind. Furthermore, Eni reiterated its commitment to contribute to the UK’s energy security through the business combination between the Eni UK and Ithaca Energy upstream activities. The combination with Ithaca represents an opportunity to bring together complementary portfolios and to establish a material position on the UK Continental Shelf as one of the Country's leading independent operators.
The meeting was an opportune moment to celebrate the recent selection of Green Volt as the only floating offshore wind project to secure a contract in the UK's latest renewables allocation round ('AR6'). The project, to be participated by Plenitude through Vårgrønn, company dedicated to offshore wind development in Northern Europe, will become the world's largest floating offshore wind farm, contributing 560 MW to decarbonizing both the UK's electricity grid and the oil and gas platforms. Together with the Dogger Bank and Cenos projects, clean energy generation capacity participated by Eni in the Country will exceed 5 GW gross.
Eni's CCS initiatives in the UK were also discussed with the company leading the HyNet North West and Bacton Thames Net Zero projects as the operator of the CO2 transport and storage (T&S) system. CCUS is crucial to the delivery of Net Zero while creating new jobs and ensuring the long-term competitiveness of British industries.
Claudio Descalzi, Chief Executive Officer of Eni, commented: 'We are pleased to have had the opportunity to engage with the Prime Minister and the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero. The meeting highlighted a strong willingness to address the energy transition, whilst also focusing on energy security and the economic and industrial context of our sector. We discussed Eni's projects in the UK and outlined our plans, reaffirming our commitment to play a significant role in the country's energy transition ambitions.'
Source: Eni
