Our presence in Tunisia is well-established and historically connected with natural resources. Today we have diversified our activities: in addition to exploration, development and production of natural gas, we operate in the chemicals and renewable energy sectors, confirming our commitment to the decarbonisation of the energy mix.
The availability of solar energy, particularly in the south, enables us to support the country in its energy transition processes, exploiting the solar energy produced by our Adam and Tataouine plants. The energy produced by the Adam photovoltaic project is used on the adjacent oil field site to reduce gas consumption and carbon dioxide emissions. The Tataouine photovoltaic plant supplies energy to the national grid and has helped create a local skilled workforce in the renewable energy industry.
We have launched a pilot project of experimenting with new sustainable growing of vegetables, for use as feedstock for bio-refining and producing biofuel.
Our exploration activities in Tunisia are concentrated in the desert areas of the south and offshore in the Mediterranean. Of key strategic importance is the Trans Mediterranean Pipeline which connects Algeria with the Strait of Sicily via Tunisia, guaranteeing safe supplies of natural gas also for Italy. The two photovoltaic systems of Adam and Tataouine have an important role to play in the energy transition.
With the former, the energy produced is used directly in the field with a consequent reduction in atmospheric emissions, while the latter, through a solar tracking system, optimises energy production to provide the national grid with over 20 GWh a year. As well as being present on the Tunisian market in the importation and marketing of bitumen and lubricants, in semi-desert areas not currently used for other crops a pilot project is underway for the trial of new sustainable vegetable crops to use as feedstock to power biorefining processes and the production of biofuels.
