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
01 Jun 23 |
Reabold Resources provides update on investment in LNEnergy Reabold Resources has announced that, further to the Company's announcement of 9 May 2023 regarding its initial investment in LNEnergy, Reabold and LNEnergy have agreed to extend the expiry date of the First Option and Shareholder Option by one week to 7 June 2023. |
30 May 23 |
Italy: Prospex provides Selva field development update Prospex Energy reports that Po Valley, operator of the Selva gas field, has recovered the €757,000 performance bond previously deposited with the Italian national Transmission System Operator SNAM. The return of the bond follows the completion of the SNAM pipeline tie in connection, Gas Sales Agreement and transportation arrangements. First gas from the Podere Maiar - 1 well in the Selva field is contingent upon final Ministry approval. |
22 May 23 |
Italy: Repsol to develop renewable projects in Italy totaling more than 1,700 MW Repsol will develop renewable projects in Italy totaling 1,768 MW. It has a portfolio in the country that, once fully operational, will add 943 MW of wind and 825 MW of photovoltaic solar projects to the multi-energy company's portfolio of renewable projects. |
16 May 23 |
Italy: FuturaSun becomes a photovoltaic cell manufacturer, unveiling 10 GW industrial hub The Italian producer of high-efficiency photovoltaic modules has signed a strategic agreement with the government of the city of Huai'an (Jiangsu), for the construction of its own solar cell factory. he project involves the construction of a 266,000-square-meter gigafactory. The investment will initially amount to 150 million euros and will be carried out in two phases. |
10 May 23 |
Reabold Resources announces investment in LNEnergy Reabold Resources has entered into a conditional subscription and option agreement with LNEnergy. LNEnergy's primary asset is an option over a 90% interest in the Colle Santo gas field, onshore Italy in the Abruzzo region. With 65Bcf of 2P reserves, as estimated by RPS, this is a highly material undeveloped onshore gas resource which is development ready with no additional drilling required. First gas is targeted for early 2025. |
Italy - more news
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