ROME, April 3 (Reuters) - Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni flew to Saudi Arabia on Friday for a previously unannounced trip that will also include meetings in Qatar and the United Arab Emirates, a government official said.
The two-day visit is aimed at showing support for Gulf partners facing Iranian attacks and to protect Italy's own energy supplies, the official said.
It is the first trip by a European Union leader to Saudi since the conflict launched by the United States and Israel at the end of February and comes at a time of rising concern in Rome over the security of oil and gas flows.
Before the war, about 10% of Italy's total gas consumption was covered by Qatari liquefied natural gas, while Middle East oil accounted for around 12% of Italy's total oil imports last year.
Last week, Italy was notified that its Gulf supplier had extended a pause in LNG deliveries because of the near-closure of the Strait of Hormuz and would not ship 10 cargoes between April and mid-June. Iranian attacks have also knocked out 17% of Qatar's LNG export capacity, QatarEnergy's CEO and state minister for energy affairs told Reuters last month.
Looking to make up the shortfall, Italy will begin receiving liquefied natural gas (LNG) from the Golden Pass LNG facility in the United States from June, two sources familiar with the matter told Reuters on Thursday.
(Reporting by Giuseppe Fonte; Writing by Crispian Balmer; Editing by Gavin Jones)
