Europe / Caspian / CIS
Country profile: Italy
| Location: | Southern Europe, a peninsula extending into the central Mediterranean Sea, northeast of Tunisia |
| Climate: | predominantly Mediterranean; Alpine in far north; hot, dry in south |
| Terrain: | mostly rugged and mountainous; some plains, coastal lowlands |
| Size: | 301230 sq. km total (Land area: 294020 sq. km Water area: 7210 sq.km) |
| Population: | 58,145,321 (July 2008 est.) |
| Languages: | Italian (official), German (parts of Trentino-Alto Adige region are predominantly German speaking), French (small French-speaking minority in Valle d'Aosta region), Slovene (Slovene-speaking minority in the Trieste-Gorizia area) |
| Government: | republic |
| Capital city: | Rome |
| Legal system: | based on civil law system; appeals treated as new trials; judicial review under certain conditions in Constitutional Court; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction |
| Currency: | euro (EUR) |
| Licensing: |
Country profile
With limited domestic energy sources, Italy is highly dependent on imports to meet its consumption needs. In absolute terms, oil consumption has remained relatively static since 1970, but oil's share of Italy’s primary energy mix has decreased significantly, steadily replaced by natural gas. A pressing issue affecting Italy has been the country's electricity supply. Over the past decade, Italy’s installed electricity generation has not been able to keep up with demand, resulting in an increased share of electricity imports as a percent of total consumption.
Oil is the largest source of Italy’s energy consumption, representing 47 percent of primary energy consumption in 2004. Natural gas is the second-largest with 35 percent of primary energy consumption, followed by minor contributions from coal (8 percent), hydroelectricity (5 percent), and other renewables (2 percent). Unlike many other OECD countries, Italy still relies upon oil for a sizable portion of electricity generation: preliminary International Energy Agency (IEA) data for 2005 shows that Italy relied upon oil for 16 percent of its electricity generation, versus 5 percent for the OECD as a whole.
Energy production and consumption
| Oil | Gas | |
| Production: | 164,800 bbl/day (2005 est.) | 11 billion cu m (2005 est.) |
| Consumption: | 1 million bbl/day (2005 est.) | 82 billion cu m (2005 est.) |
| Exports: | 521,400 bbl/day (2004 est.) | 379 million cu m (2005 est.) |
| Imports: | 2 million bbl/day (2004 est.) | 70 billion cu m (2005 est.) |
| Reserves: | 621 million bbl/day (2006 est.) | 217 billion cu m (1 January 2006 est.) |
| Major fields: |
Italy - recent news
| 03 May 24 |
Italy: Prospex Energy provides update on the Selva Malvezzi production concession in Italy Prospex Energy, the AIM quoted investment company focused on European gas and power projects, has provided an update from the Selva Malvezzi production concession in Italy. |
| 02 May 24 |
Italy: Heads of Agreement signed between Gunvor and LNEnergy Reabold Resources has announced the execution of a non-binding Heads of Agreement between Gunvor International and LNEnergy for the purchase of liquefied natural gas ('LNG') by Gunvor from LNEnergy from the Colle Santo gas field, located onshore Italy. LNEnergy has the exclusive right to acquire a 90% interest in Colle Santo and Reabold owns a 26.1% equity interest in LNEnergy. |
| 05 Apr 24 |
Italy: Baker Hughes to supply Snam with hydrogen-ready technology to support decarbonization and resilience of the Italian gas network Baker Hughes, an energy technology company, has been awarded a contract to be booked in the first quarter of 2024 from Snam, Europe’s leading operator in natural gas transportation, storage and regasification, to provide three NovaLT 12 gas turbine driven compressor trains for a new gas compressor station in Sulmona, Italy. |
| 01 Apr 24 |
Italy: Vestas wins 81 MW order in Italy Italian renewables producer Edison Rinnovabili has placed a 81 MW order for the repowering of the Roio del Sangro, Monteferrante Guado, Monteferrante Casone and Montazzoli wind parks, in Abruzzo, Italy. |
| 15 Mar 24 |
Italy: Emeren Group and Glennmont to develop 155 MW of Battery Storage Projects in Italy Emeren Group, a leading global solar project developer, owner, and operator, has announced the successful co-development agreement of 155 MW (up to 1.24GWh of capacity) of Battery Storage Projects in two regions of Southern Italy with Glennmont Partners from Nuveen, one of the world’s largest fund managers investing in clean energy. |
Italy - more news
Other countries in this region
- Afghanistan,
- Albania,
- Armenia,
- Austria,
- Azerbaijan,
- Belarus,
- Belgium,
- Bosnia and Herzegovina,
- Bulgaria,
- Croatia,
- Cyprus,
- Czech Republic,
- Denmark,
- Estonia,
- Faroe Islands,
- Finland,
- France,
- Georgia,
- Germany,
- Greece,
- Greenland,
- Hungary,
- Iceland,
- Ireland,
- Kazakhstan,
- Kyrgyzstan,
- Latvia,
- Lithuania,
- Luxembourg,
- Malta,
- Moldova,
- Montenegro,
- Netherlands,
- Norway,
- Poland,
- Portugal,
- Romania,
- Russia,
- Serbia,
- Slovakia,
- Slovenia,
- Spain,
- Sweden,
- Switzerland,
- Tajikistan,
- Tatarstan,
- Turkey,
- Turkmenistan,
- Ukraine,
- United Kingdom,
- Uzbekistan
