MILAN, Dec 7: Libya and Italian oil and gas major Eni are set to renew an energy partnership and have agreed to joint investments in oil and gas in Libya and other African countries, said the son of Libyan leader.

“We are discussing relations which can be extended for the next 20 years. We are laying out foundations for a new master plan,” Saif al-Islam, son of Muammar Qadhafi, told reporters after meeting Eni Chief Executive Paolo Scaroni in Milan.

Italy is Libya's biggest business partner, and Eni, one of the major investors, has been present in Libya since 1959.

He said some kind of framework agreement may be reached before the end of this year.

Libya and Eni have discussed renewal of the Italian company's concessions and its new investments in Libya's oil, gas and refining sector, including oil services and Eni's participation in building an 8-billion-cubic-metre liquefied natural gas plant, Scaroni and Islam said.

Libya and Eni have also agreed on new joint ventures to invest in oil and gas sector in Libya and other African countries, said Islam, adding the size of the investment was yet to be defined.

He said Libya's National Oil Company would be Eni's partner in investments in the country's oil and gas sector.

A new Libyan Oil Fund, whose shares will be traded on the domestic market, would back Eni in investments in oil services in Libya and energy investments in other African countries, including those in the sub-Sahara region, Islam said. —Reuters