Eni CEO sees “no significant shocks” to energy market in 2023

(Bloomberg) – Claudio Descalzi, Chief Executive Officer of Italian oil and gas giant Eni Spa, said he sees no significant jolts to the energy market this year.

“For this year, I don’t expect further big shocks on the energy market,” Descalzi told newspaper La Stampa in an interview Saturday. “European gas stocks are full and, even though the global economy has restarted, demand is not at the maximum levels because China hasn’t yet restarted activity at full speed.”

Descalzi said imports of Russian gas had shrank to almost zero, “reduced to a few percentages.” He added, “Thanks to imports of liquefied natural gas (LNG) from the U.S. and to new supply contracts with northern and Sub-Saharan Africa.”

Eni posted a first-quarter profit Friday that beat estimates on strong gas trading but trimmed its full-year earnings guidance due to lower prices for the fuel. Eni was among the first oil majors to report earnings in a season that’s expected to deliver sizable cash flows even as profit falls from last year’s record levels.