Italy plans to increase its imports of Algerian gas

Italy plans to increase its imports of Algerian gas
Italy plans to increase its imports of Algerian gas

The Italian newspaper The Press reports that the Italian government plans to increase imports of liquefied natural gas from the United States and Algeria, with the possibility of ordering some from Libya as well.

The same source specifies that the Italian government intends to intensify its purchases of Algerian liquefied natural gas under short-term spot contracts, in order to cope with the shortage of Russian supplies and its effects on prices.

In this context, dixit The PressItaly could submit an additional request to obtain liquefied natural gas from the United States to compensate for the loss of the share that arrived from Russia via Ukraine.

This follows the permanent cessation of Russian gas deliveries to Europe, which calls for new measures to secure alternative sources.

The newspaper quotes Davide Tabarelli, president of Nomisma Energia, an independent research institute in the field of energy and the environment. This estimates that Italy will have to compensate for 5 billion cubic meters of gas coming from Russia via Ukraine in 2025.

This is why Italy has expanded its storage capacities and diversified its supplies through contracts with Algeria, the United States, Azerbaijan and Qatar.

On the other hand, the Italian Minister of the Environment, Gilberto Pichetto Fratinhighlighted the importance of increasing the import capacity of liquefied natural gas into the Italian network.

Algeria: main gas supplier to Italy

Algeria has been Italy’s main gas supplier since the start of Russia’s war against Ukraine, which upset the balance of global gas markets.

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In this regard, the head of the Italian Energy Regulatory Authority (ARERA), Stefano Besseghini, previously confirmed that Italy imported 25.5 billion cubic meters of Algerian gas in 2023.

Mr. Besseghini explained that European Union countries imported 24% of Algeria’s gas. While 155 billion cubic meters of gas were recovered by gas pipelines from the Mediterranean. A decrease of 48% compared to previous periods.

He added that the increase in gas revenues from Algeria and Mediterranean countries is due to the decrease in imports from Russia and Norway.

Increase gas imports via ships

Furthermore, Mr. Besseghini highlighted that Italy imported approximately 20.23 billion cubic meters of gas in 2023 by sea. Which represents 14.5% of the total liquefied natural gas imported from Qatar, Algeria and the United States.

Finally, the Italian press agency Nova confirmed that the replacement of Russian gas took place gradually by increasing the quantities of gas arriving in Italy via pipelines from other countries linked to Italy, notably Algeria and Azerbaijan.

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