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
| 06 Jul 26 |
Italy: Eni Storage Systems breaks ground on stationary battery manufacturing plant in Brindisi Eni Storage Systems, a company jointly owned by Eni Industrial Evolution and FIB (Seri Industrial Group), today launched construction works at the Brindisi industrial site for the development of a new integrated Italian and European hub for the production of lithium-iron-phosphate (LFP) batteries. |
| 06 Jul 26 |
Italy: Qualitas Energy secures c.€172 million financing for a 156 MWp solar PV portfolio in Italy Qualitas Energy, a leading global investment and management platform with a dual focus on both funding and developing renewable energy, energy transition, and sustainable infrastructure, has secured a c.€172 million non-recourse financing package for a 156 MWp greenfield solar photovoltaic (PV) portfolio in Italy. |
| 02 Jul 26 |
Italy: RWE has commissioned its first commercial-scale Agri-PV plants in Italy RWE has commissioned its first commercial-scale Agri-PV plants in Italy. The Morcone and Acquafredda advanced Agri-PV projects, with capacities of 9.8 MWac and 9.3 MWac respectively, are located in the province of Benevento in the Campania region. Advanced Agri-PV systems deliver dual yield for energy and crops. |
| 30 Jun 26 |
Italy: Rockhopper Exploration provides update regarding disposal of Italian assets AIM-listed Rockhopper Exploration, the oil and gas company with key interests in the North Falkland Basin, has provided an update in respect of the exit of Rockhopper's Italian assets. |
| 30 Jun 26 |
Italy: Beacon Energy announces strategic investor joins Colle Santo project AIM-listed Beacon Energy has announced that a leading Italian energy distribution company has subscribed for new shares in LNEnergy Italy for consideration of €1.4 million. Simultaneously, LNEnergy Italy has increased its working interest in the Colle Santo project from 90 per cent to 100 per cent. |
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
