Eni chief calls on world leaders to de-escalate Middle East tensions - Financial Times

The chief executive of Eni called for world leaders to defuse rising tensions in the Gulf as Italy’s largest oil and gas company embarks on a big expansion in the Middle East.

“We cannot risk a war,” said Claudio Descalzi, following attacks last weekend on Saudi Arabia’s Abqaiq crude processing facility and a large oilfield. “We cannot risk a big conflict that can involve more countries. It’s not just a question of energy security, it’s a question of human lives.”

Washington and Riyadh have blamed Iran for the strikes on Abqaiq, the world’s largest oil processing facility and the Khurais oilfield, which knocked out half of Saudi Arabia’s production and sent crude prices spiralling as much as 20 per cent on Monday.

Eni is investing heavily in the region to diversify its operations away from areas deemed even riskier, including parts of Africa. The company expects to spend $2.5bn on exploration and production across the UAE, Oman and Bahrain between 2019 and 2022 in an effort to deliver an additional 400,000 barrels a day of production.

Speaking to reporters and analysts in Abu Dhabi, Mr Descalzi said a new set of geopolitical risks were emerging, targeting hydrocarbon-rich countries that are home to some of the world’s most important energy infrastructure.

“Even if a hub is so well protected, everybody can be a target,” he said. “What happened is changing something . . . more tension will require more attention, more security, more controls. If all of our institutions worldwide are wise they will also do the diplomatic work.”

The Italian group is also pursuing broader investments in refining and chemicals in the region, primarily through a partnership with the Abu Dhabi national oil company.

Iran-aligned Houthi rebels, who are fighting a Saudi-led coalition in a four-year war in Yemen, claimed responsibility for the weekend attacks. Saudi officials say the attack did not emanate from Yemen, adding the Houthis were “covering up” for Iran.

Iran has denied any involvement. But the assault is being viewed as part of the broader regional tensions triggered by the stand-off between the Trump administration and the Islamic republic. Mike Pompeo, the US secretary of state, described the attacks as an “act of war” as he flew into Jeddah to hold talks with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, the kingdom’s de facto leader.

Saudi Arabia is Washington’s closest Arab ally and has been a staunch supporter of President Donald Trump’s “maximum pressure” strategy against Iran.

Colonel Turki al-Malki, a Saudi defence ministry spokesman, said on Wednesday that the strikes were launched from the north and involved 18 Iranian drones and seven cruise missiles. He said investigators were still working to determine the exact launch point.

Saudi oil officials have insisted that the kingdom would return to its pre-attack production levels by the end of the month, but the attacks underline the vulnerability of key infrastructure in the world’s top oil exporter.

People close to the Saudi energy minister have cautioned a return to full production could take longer given the extent of the damage. That has left the oil market with minimal production reserves in the event of another outage.

The Houthi group said on Wednesday it had identified dozens of sites in the UAE as targets for attack. The UAE forms part of the Saudi-led coalition fighting the rebels in Yemen, in what has become a multi-layered civil war.

2019-09-19 10:06:00Z
https://www.ft.com/content/d4aabfd8-daae-11e9-8f9b-77216ebe1f17