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
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. |
12 Mar 24 |
Italy: Zenith Energy provides update on its Italian energy production portfolio Zenith Energy, the listed international energy production and development company, has announced the full completion of an acquisition in Italy, as well as providing an update on its Italian energy production portfolio. |
26 Feb 24 |
Italy: Plenitude completes construction of Ravenna Ponticelle photovoltaic plant Plenitude, Eni's Benefit Corporation that integrates renewable energy production, the sale of energy and energy solutions for households and companies, as well as an extensive network of electric vehicle charging points, has announced that the new Ravenna Ponticelle photovoltaic plant is now operational. |
20 Feb 24 |
Italy: Vestas wins 63 MW order in Italy Vestas has received a 63 MW order for a wind park in Italy. The contract includes the supply and installation of 14 V150-4.5 MW wind turbines, as well as a 10-year Active Output Management 5000 (AOM 5000) service agreement. |
29 Jan 24 |
Italy: Eni moves ahead with conversion of the Livorno refinery into a bio-refinery Eni has confirmed its decision to build Italy's third bio-refinery in Livorno.xThe conversion of the Livorno industrial site, following other successful conversions in Porto Marghera (2014) and Gela (2019), confirms Eni's decarbonization strategy, which aims to achieve carbon neutrality by 2050. |
Italy - more news
Other countries in this region
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- Bulgaria,
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- Cyprus,
- Czech Republic,
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- France,
- Georgia,
- Germany,
- Greece,
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- Latvia,
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