CEO of Italian oil company Eni, Claudio Descalzi, has told Egyptian President Abdel Fatah al-Sisi that his company will increase its investments in Egypt.

Descalzi also said his company believed there were promising opportunities in the Egyptian market, according to an official statement published by Egypt’s state information service.

Egypt is currently looking to ramp up domestic oil and gas production with the stated aim of becoming energy self-sufficient.

On 17 February, Electricity Minister Mohamed Shaker has warned that the country’s energy sector faces an “unprecedented challenge” to meet burgeoning power demand.

Electricity demand is expected to jump from 30,000MW currently to 47,000MW by 2021-22, an increase of 64 per cent. Speaking at a conference in Cairo, Shaker said demand is expected to hit 94,000MW by 2036.