Eni Says Libyan Protests Could Block Gas Exports to Italy

ROME--Libyan natural gas exports to Italy may grind to a halt if protests at a key terminal continue, Paolo Scaroni, chief executive of Italian energy giant Eni SpA (ENI.MI), said Wednesday, indicating that civil unrest in the north African country could interrupt critical supplies to Europe ahead of winter.

Protests at the Mellitah terminal are "pushing us to interrupt total [gas] exports to Italy," said Mr. Scaroni in a radio interview. "This is worrying."

The Mellitah terminal, which is jointly run by Eni and the Libyan National Oil Company, is key to facilitating gas exports via the Greenstream pipeline from Libya to Italy. The pipeline can supply more than 10% of gas demand in Italy.

However, Mr. Scaroni played down the risk to Italy's gas supplies.

"I see no problems of supply, there's plenty from other parts of the world and with the present benevolent [warm] weather we are seeing in Italy, I don't see this as a problem," Mr Scaroni said in the interview.

Russian and Algerian gas imports cover around 60% of Italy's gas supply needs.

Eni's third-quarter results, published last week, were hit by disruptions to Libya's oil and gas flows. The resources-rich country remains scarred by the 2011 civil war that brought down the four-decade regime of Col. Moammar Gadhafi.

Eni has the biggest operations in Libya--a former Italian colony--of any international energy company.

There have been a series of protests in the north African nation over higher pay and more jobs at hydrocarbon plants--the main source of foreign income for the country. They have included minority groups that were set aside under the Gadhafi regime and who now want some share of Libya's wealth.

Mr. Scaroni has said there are a large number of weapons freely available in Libya since the fall of the Gadhafi regime and that most Libyans appear to be armed--an indication of the perceived security risk across the country.

Livia Lepore, MF-DJ, in Rome, contributed to this story.

Write to Liam Moloney at [e-mail]

Subscribe to WSJ: http://online.wsj.com?mod=djnwires