ROME: Italy’s natural gas supplies should be more secure by next winter as it boosts imports of the fuel in liquefied form and from Algeria, according to the country’s biggest energy firm.
Eni SpA is planning to bring an additional seven billion cubic meters of liquefied natural gas (LNG) to Italy in 2023 and 2024 to help bolster its energy security and wean it off Russian supplies, said chief executive officer Claudio Descalzi.
Italy is among European nations looking at LNG import terminals, with many governments having fast-tracked projects since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. A floating LNG terminal on the Tuscan coast at Piombino is due to start operating in the spring.
“The fundamental thing is that we have at least one of the new receiving terminals in operation in spring because we need to refill our storage,” Descalzi said on the sidelines of an Atlantic Council conference in Abu Dhabi.
“If we can do that, and sooner or later we will get additional volumes from Algeria, then we should manage to have a winter that’s a bit calmer and a bit more secure.”
Descalzi has previously said that Algeria will supply Italy with as much gas in 2023 as Russia did prior to its attack. — Bloomberg
