Italy has for years been the top EU exporter to the UAE’s oil and gas industry. But with shared net-zero ambitions, Italy now aims to double its renewables industry components to the UAE over the next few years.
The two strong economies in their respective regions – Italy being the eurozone’s third-largest economy, and UAE the Arab world’s second-largest economy – are demonstrating their commitment to renewable energy.
Italy now produces 33 per cent of its energy from renewable sources, placing it at the forefront of the EU in terms of renewable en-ergy.
The sector got a major boost when Italy’s National Recovery and Resilience Plan (NRRP) offered massive funding worth 3.6 billion euros ($3.75 billion) to increase the percentage of energy derived from clean and renewable sources in the national energy mix.
All this makes Italy a preferred partner in the renewables landscape for the UAE, which has initiated several renewable projects of its own, including hosting one the largest solar plants in the world.
“The UAE and the region are serious about sustainability. That’s why when they talk about oil and gas, they also stress on expand-ing the energy mix, energy transition, innovation, digitalisation towards a more efficient but clean production,” Amedeo Scarpa, Ital-ian Trade Commissioner to the UAE, tells Abdulaziz Khattak of the OGN energy magazine in an interview.
He adds Dubai is making significant investments in innovation and is encouraging startups in the oil and gas sector.
Italy’s commitment to the UAE was befittingly represented at two key energy events this year.
At the Adipec 2022 Exhibition and Conference event in Abu Dhabi, Italy was one of only 20 countries to have a national pavilion.
A total of 115 Italian companies participated at Adipec among them 28 companies at the national pavilion, organised by the Italian Trade Agency and supported by the Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation.
And before Adipec, Italy hosted the biggest foreign pavilion for renewable energy in October at WETEX and the Dubai Solar Show in October, one of the region’s largest sustainability & clean energy technology exhibition.
The traditional energy sector remains one of the most important sectors of trade and export for Italy, with global Italian companies like Eni also being key contributors of oil and gas components to the UAE.
Recently Eni with its Thailand partner PTTEP announced significant gas discovery of 1-1.5 trillion cubic feet (TCF) of raw gas at an offshore block in Abu Dhabi. Both companies are operators of Blocks 1, 2 and 3.
Overall, Italy is a major trading partner with the UAE, exporting goods worth 143 million euros to the UAE annually, making it the third largest trade partner together with the UK, and a reliable partner in energy.