Europe Needs 2-3 Years To Replace Russian Gas: Eni CEO

Europe more work to do before it can fully replace Russian natural gas and prices could rise again, Eni CEO Claudio Descalzi said.

• “It is going to take two to three years for Europe to be able to replace completely Russian gas,” Descalzi said.
• Europe’s total imports from Russia this year will be about 60bcm lower than in 2022, Descalzi said. “The big challenge starting from March is to be able to find the gas to replace it,” he said.
• Gas prices have dropped in recent months, but could rise again “as soon as we have to start refiling storage in Europe,” Descalzi said. He sees the cost of the fuel at $20 to $25MMBtu this year, possibly higher at peak times.
• “We think that the oil price this year can range between $80-85/bbl considering China is going to recover,” he said.
• Earlier this month Eni said it aims to fully replace the 20bcm of Russian gas volumes it received by 2025 by ramping up volumes from Algeria, Egypt, Congo, Mozambique and Qatar.