OREANDA-NEWS. The Gazprom headquarters hosted today a working meeting between Alexey Miller, Chairman of the Gazprom Management Committee and Claudio Descalzi, Chief Executive Officer of Eni.

The parties addressed Russian gas exports to Italy. Preliminary estimates indicate that in 2015 the gas exports totaled about 24.4 billion cubic meters showing a 12.6 per cent increase versus 2014. Between January 1 and 20, 2016 the gas exports grew by 24.5 per cent versus the same period of 2015. A key export market for Gazprom, Italy was Europe's third-largest Russian gas consumer in 2015.

The parties also discussed the European gas market trends in light of the current oil prices. The companies confirmed their intention to continue closely cooperating in the Italian gas market and expressed their readiness to increase Russian gas sales under the existing long-term contracts.

Background

Eni is a global energy company operating in the oil and gas industries, engaged in power generation & sales and the petrochemical sector, and providing maintenance and engineering services at oil fields. Eni is Gazprom's main partner within the Blue Stream gas pipeline project.