Eni's Scaroni Says Gas To Increase In Energy Mix

The CEO of Italian oil and gas group Eni SpA (ENI.MI) said on Wednesday that natural gas would provide a greater slice of global energy production in the future, while renewables have not yet become competitive. "The evidence seems to suggest that gas will play an ever increasing role in the global energy mix," Paolo Scaroni told a conference on the world economy organized by IHS Global Insight.

Scaroni, at the helm of the world's seventh-biggest listed oil company by output, said the development of shale gas outside the United States represented a major economic opportunity.

"The fields of shale gas in eastern Europe and North Africa can guarantee added volume to the European market," Scaroni said.

Europe also needed to invest in other energy sources and transport infrastructure like the South Stream and Nabucco pipelines which would bring gas to Europe from Russia, central Asia and Iran, according to the Eni chief executive.

Scaroni said the economic crisis has exacerbated reliance on traditional fossil fuels as their prices had fallen, while research and development in renewable energy had dried up.

"Renewable energy sources -- wind, solar and biofuels -- still require massive investment in R&D and technological advances to become truly competitive," he said.

By Giuseppe Fonte for Reuters UK. April 21, 2010.

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Reuters: "Eni's Scaroni Says Gas To Increase In Energy Mix"