President Akufo-Addo met the CEO of Eni, Claudio Descalzi, in Accra on Wednesday – which meeting discussed a new area of focus for the operator of Sankofa oil and gas field: renewable energy.

To push its renewable energy agenda, Eni recently signed a partnership with the UNDP and says it wants Ghana to play a ‘frontrunner role’ in efforts on the development of renewable energy, energy efficiency, forestry and clean-cooking initiatives in Africa.

A release from the company said the meeting took place in the presence of the Minister for Energy, John Peter Amewu.

The partnership, it said, aims 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.

“Improving access to energy, especially in Africa, is core to Eni’s values; and it is an intrinsic part of the company’s business. Eni invests more than half of its budget in Africa, boosting the domestic potential and promoting local development.”

The release further noted that “Eni is already committed to the sustainable development of Ghana. The US$7bn investment in the integrated OCTP project represents Eni’s firm commitment to providing long-term domestic gas supply”.

Ghana’s OCTP project will, it said, deliver stable, secure, reliable, and affordable volumes of gas to feed power plants for over 20 years.

“The use of domestic gas will allow Ghana to cut the use of liquid fuel, reducing CO2 emissions by 30%; and to limit the more expensive gas importation whose entire value chain lies outside the country.

“Also, Eni has destined over US$15m to an extensive programme of sustainability initiatives including economic diversification, education, water and sanitation, and health activities; and is engaged in the development of solar power projects in the country, including off-grid installations in remote areas and floating solar farms.

“In the framework of the partnership signed between Eni and UNDP, a first area that will be developed together is a REDD+ (Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation) initiative. Community-based activities will 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. It is the operator of the OCTP Integrated Oil & Gas Development Project (Eni 44.44%, Vitol 35.56%, GNPC 20%).