BRUSSELS — A delegation of Italian lawmakers has traveled to Libya to explore potentially ramping up energy trade with the war-torn country to fill the gap caused by the war in the Persian Gulf.
It reflects growing interest from Europe and the United States in the country’s vast but underexploited energy resources, heightened by the recent global energy shortage.
While Libya already exports some gas to Italy, flows have slowed to a trickle since the 2011 civil war that toppled Muammar Gaddafi, leaving the North African country wracked by paramilitary violence and divided between two warring administrations.
But the loss of around 10 percent of Italy’s gas supply following the bombardment of a major Qatari gas plant in mid-March is beginning to change the calculus for top officials across the country.
