ROME, Oct. 13 (UPI) -- Italian energy company ENI could start sending natural gas again through the Greenstream pipeline in Libya this week, Italian media reported.
ENI Chief Executive Officer Paolo Scaroni visited Tripoli in September, a first for any major international company since the start of the war in February.
He said the main purpose of his visit was to figure out steps needed to resume natural gas exports through the Greenstream pipeline, which could carry as much as 350 billion cubic feet of natural gas per year.
ENI in August signed a deal with the transitional government that outlined restart plans for the Greenstream pipeline. Much of Libya's infrastructure was damaged by war.
Italian newspaper Corriere della Sera reported that ENI is planning to start importing gas through Greenstream as early as this week. The Platts news service, however, notes the article didn't cite any sources and ENI officials refused to comment on the report.
Greenstream was closed in February as the uprising against Moammar Gadhafi began. Gas supplied through the pipeline had met about 10 percent of Italy's natural gas needs before the onset of the Libyan conflict.
