By Justus Ononogbo
During the state visit of the President of the United Arab Emirates, Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, and in the presence of the Italian Prime Minister, Giorgia Meloni, Eni’s Chief Executive Officer, Claudio Descalzi signed three collaboration agreements with Emirati companies covering the development of data centres, renewable energy capacity transmission through cross border interconnection between Albania and Italy, and critical minerals.
And of particular reference was a Letter of Intent signed by Eni, to enter into agreement with MGX, a leading investment fund focused on AI and Advanced Technology investment, and G42, a globally leading AI-focused group based in Abu Dhabi, to develop state-of-the-art data centres in Italy to store, process, and manage large amounts of data, with a planned IT capacity of up to 1 GW. These facilities Energy Window International had gathered, would be fully powered by blue power supplied by Eni, a low-carbon energy source generated by natural gas power plants, whose CO2 emissions are captured and stored. The first project – Ferrera Erbognone, also home to Eni’s Green Data Centre, would be developed in two phases of up to 500 MW of IT capacity, equal to Italy’s current installed capacity, and to be supported by a new dedicated power plant, with CO2 capture and storage at the Ravenna CCS hub.
Eni also signed, in addition, an agreement with Abu Dhabi Future Energy Company PJSC – Masdar, the UAE’s clean energy leader, and Taqa Transmission, reported as specialist in electricity transmission, for the establishment of long term power off take arrangements in Italy with Eni as a preferred off-taker of the renewable energy generated in Albania with a capacity of up to 3 GW transmitted through an up to 1 GW cross border subsea interconnection between Albania and Italy. This agreement is said to follows the Tripartite Strategic Partnership Framework signed in Abu Dhabi in January 2025 between the governments of Italy, Albania and the UAE.
Eni and ADQ, described as a global sovereign investor with a focus on critical infrastructure and supply chains, also signed a Memorandum of Understanding to collaborate on the research and development of critical minerals, aimed at strengthening the security and resilience of the critical minerals supply chain for both Italy and the UAE.
Eni CEO Claudio Descalzi said: “Our partnership with the UAE is a testament to our shared commitment to a sustainable energy future, leveraging innovation and collaboration across key sectors. Together with leading UAE companies we will develop initiatives in areas that are essential in the energy transition, such as data centers powered by blue energy, a model able to respond to AI’s growing demand of sustainable computing capacity. This strategic cooperation underscores our dedication to driving technological progress and contributing to the energy security on a global scale.”
Eni according to an email to Energy Window International, has been present in the UAE since 2018, with its operations concentrated in Abu Dhabi’s offshore exploration sector, holding a 70% stake in Blocks 2 and 3. Eni also owns a 10% share in the offshore Ghasha concession, said to be under development currently. In the production sector, Eni holds stakes in the offshore concessions of Lower Zakum (5%) and Umm Shaif/Nasr (10%). It also owns 20% of ADNOC Global Trading and ADNOC Refining. The latter operates in the Ruwais area, with a total refining capacity exceeding 900,000 barrels per day. The Ruwais complex ranks as the fourth largest worldwide in terms of capacity.