Italy needs 3 years to replace gas imports from Russia

Italy will need at least three years to completely replace its gas imports from Russia with other energy sources, Ecological Transition Minister Roberto Cingolani said, Report informs referring to Reuters.

Rome imports around 30 billion cubic meters (bcm) of gas from Russia every year - some 40% of its total gas imports - and is looking to diversify its energy supplies in response to Moscow's military actions Ukraine.

Cingolani told the upper house Senate that completely replacing Russian gas was "possible over a minimum time horizon of three years."

But he said 20 bcm per year could be replaced in the "near to medium term" by a raft of measures including raising gas imports from Algeria by 9 bcm and raising coal and oil-fueled power production to replace 3-4 bcm of gas.

Other measures included increasing power imports from northern Europe as well as using around 6 bcm more liquefied natural gas (LNG).

Since Russia’s operation in Ukraine, Italy has ramped up efforts to secure alternative gas sources, with LNG-rich Qatar a particular focus of attention.

Italy's complex permitting process has virtually stopped development of LNG facilities beyond three plants currently operating which now account for around 20% of daily imports.

Cingolani said floating LNG terminals (FSRU) could be installed 12-18 months after receiving permits to provide 16-24 bcm of gas. Two onshore terminals, with an overall capacity of 20 bcm and already permitted, would take 3-4 years.

"To do this we are checking the status of the permits," he said.

Longer-term measures to try and plug the gap included doubling capacity on the TAP pipeline carrying Azeri gas, rolling out 8 gigawatts per year of new renewable power capacity and doubling domestic gas production, Cingolani said.

Like other EU member states, Italy has been struggling to curb surging energy costs. The government aims to approve a new package on Thursday to help consumers and firms cope. Cingolani told parliament Rome planned to use increased VAT revenues from higher energy bills to cut excise duties on petrol and diesel.

He said talks were under way on a series of EU proposals regarding state aid rules, clawing back excess profits made by energy companies and temporarily capping wholesale gas prices.

Last year, through TAP, European consumers were provided with Azerbaijani gas for 8.1 billion cubic meters. For 2022, more than 9 billion cubic meters of gas is expected to be exported to Europe.

Through the TAP gas pipeline, most of the natural gas was supplied to the Italian market. Last year, 6.9 billion cubic meters of gas were supplied to Italy. In 2022, 7.4 billion cubic meters of Azerbaijani gas is projected to be exported to this country.

Natural gas from the Shah Deniz field in the Azerbaijani sector of the Caspian reaches the European market through the Trans Adriatic Pipeline. The pipeline, 878 km long, on the territory of Kipoi near the Turkish-Greek border, connects with the Trans-Anatolian Natural Gas Pipeline, passes through the territory of Greece, Albania and the bottom of the Adriatic Sea to southern Italy.