It said the occasion was used to discuss Eni’s operational activities and the frontrunner role Ghana could play in the partnership.

Eni, recently signed with UNDP to combine efforts on the development of renewable energy, energy efficiency, forestry and clean cooking initiatives, starting in Africa.It said this partnership aimed 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, thanks to UNDP and Eni combined expertise, ability to innovate, and on-the ground networks.

The statement said improving access to energy, especially in Africa, was core to Eni’s values, and it was an intrinsic part of the Company’s business.

 It noted that Eni invests more than half of its budget in Africa, boosting the domestic potential and promoting local development. It said Eni was already committed to the sustainable development of Ghana.

It said the seven-billion-dollar investment in the integrated Offshore Cape Three Points (OCTP) project, represents Eni’s firm commitment to providing long term domestic gas supply. It said Ghana’s OCTP project would deliver stable, secure, reliable, and affordable volumes of gas to feed Ghana’s power plants for over 20 years.

The statement said the use of domestic gas would allow Ghana to cut the use of liquid fuel, reducing CO2 emissions by 30 per cent, and to limit the more expensive gas importation, whose entire value chain lies outside the country.

It said Eni has destined over $15 million to an extensive programme of sustainability initiatives including economic diversification education, water and sanitation, and health activities, and was engaged in the development of solar power projects in the country including off grid installations in remote areas and floating solar farms.

It said in the framework of the partnership signed between Eni and UNDP, a first area that would be developed together is a REDD+ (Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation) initiative.

It said community based activities would 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.

Eni is Operator of the OCTP Integrated Oil and Gas Development Project (Eni 44.44 per cent, Vitol 35.56 per cent, GNPC 20 per cent).