Accra, Oct 4, GNA – The Chief Executive
Officer of Eni, Mr Claudio Descalzi, has paid a courtesy call on President Nana
Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo in Accra.
A statement issued by Eni said the meeting
took place in the presence of the Minister for Energy, John-Peter Amewu.
It said the occasion was used to discuss Eni’s
operational activities and the frontrunner role Ghana could play in the
partnership.
Eni, recently signed with UNDP to combine
efforts on the development of renewable energy, energy efficiency, forestry and
clean cooking initiatives, starting in Africa.
It said this partnership aimed at achieving
the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and specifically SDG 7 on affordable
and clean energy, SDG 13 on climate actions and SDG 15 on land management and
re-and/or afforestation, thanks to UNDP and Eni combined expertise, ability to
innovate, and on-the ground networks.
The statement said improving access to energy,
especially in Africa, was core to Eni’s values, and it was an intrinsic part of
the Company’s business.
It noted that Eni invests more than half of
its budget in Africa, boosting the domestic potential and promoting local
development.
It said Eni was already committed to the
sustainable development of Ghana.
It said the seven-billion-dollar investment in
the integrated Offshore Cape Three Points (OCTP) project, represents Eni’s firm
commitment to providing long term domestic gas supply.
It said Ghana’s OCTP project would deliver
stable, secure, reliable, and affordable volumes of gas to feed Ghana’s power
plants for over 20 years.
The statement said the use of domestic gas
would allow Ghana to cut the use of liquid fuel, reducing CO2 emissions by 30
per cent, and to limit the more expensive gas importation, whose entire value
chain lies outside the country.
It said Eni has destined over $15 million to
an extensive programme of sustainability initiatives including economic
diversification education, water and sanitation, and health activities, and was
engaged in the development of solar power projects in the country including off
grid installations in remote areas and floating solar farms.
It said in the framework of the partnership
signed between Eni and UNDP, a first area that would be developed together is a
REDD+ (Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation)
initiative.
It said community based activities would be
proposed in order to increase agricultural productivity, introduce agroforestry
schemes, and generate revenue from non-timber forest products contributing to
the diversification and development of the local economy.
Eni has been present in Ghana since 2009
through its subsidiary Eni Ghana.
Eni is Operator of the OCTP Integrated Oil and
Gas Development Project (Eni 44.44 per cent, Vitol 35.56 per cent, GNPC 20 per
cent).
GNA