TUNIS, Tunisia, April 22 (UPI) -- Italian energy company Eni is keen to ensure the safety of a natural gas pipeline, which crosses Tunisia, Chief Executive Officer Paolo Scaroni said.
Scaroni met in Tunis with Tunisian Ministry of Industry Mehdi Jomaa to discuss Eni's work in Tunisia, as well as the foreign and domestic natural gas markets.
Scaroni was there "for an exchange of ideas aiming to take all necessary and appropriate measures to ensure the efficiency and safety of the Trans-Mediterranean gas pipeline," Eni said.
The pipeline starts in Algeria, crosses Tunisian territory and runs through the Mediterranean Sea before making landfall in Sicily. The pipeline carries about 1 trillion cubic feet of natural gas per day.
Militants aligned with al-Qaida in the Islamic Maghreb attacked the In Amenas natural gas facility in eastern Algeria in January. That attack left several militants and hostages dead after Algerian forces stormed the facility.
Tunisia placed forces along the border and Algeria announced plans to boost security around the energy facilities in response.
Algeria's state-run energy company Sonatrach operated the In Amenas facility with British energy company BP and Norway's Statoil. Employees from both European countries died in the attack.
