Italy would need another four LNG import facilities if it wants to have energy security and enough supply of natural gas, Claudio Descalzi, chief executive of Italian energy giant Eni, said at a business event in Milan on Monday.
"Algeria has more than doubled gas exports to Italy, Libya has increased gas supply, and Italy also receives gas from Egypt, Angola, Nigeria, and the first cargo of gas from Mozambique, which has enormous gas reserves," Descalzi said at the Lombardia 2030 event in Milan.
"The problem is that those flows come with tankers and we don't have enough regasification capacity. We need additional regasification infrastructure," Eni's top executive added.
Spain, for example, which consumes 30 billion cubic meters, has a regasification capacity of 60 billion cubic meters, Descalzi said. Italy, meanwhile has just 17 billion cubic meters of import capacity, which is expected to rise by 10 billion cubic meters with the terminals at Piombino and Ravenna.
"We will need another 4 billion cubic meters to have full energy security, Descalzi said.
Regasification terminals currently under construction in seven EU countries could add an additional 3.5 Bcf/d of new capacity by the end of 2023. Germany, Poland, France, Finland, Estonia, Italy, and Greece are currently working to expand LNG import capacities, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA), based on data from the International Group of Liquefied Natural Gas Importers (GIIGNL).
Italy is currently developing a floating storage regasification unit (FSRU) terminal near the port of Piombino, which will add 0.5 Bcf/d of capacity and will likely come online in the spring of 2023.
However, the Italian government and the city of Piombino are at odds over the construction of the import terminal. The government and the region of Tuscany have approved and are pushing to advance the project, but the city of Piombino in Tuscany is challenging the plan in court.
By Michael Kern for Oilprice.com
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