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
| 25 Aug 20 |
Italy: Saipem signs MoU with Agnes and Qint’X to develop wind farm in the Adriatic Saipem will co-develop a wind farm in the Adriatic Sea off the coast of Ravenna. The Company has recently signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with AGNES, a company that develops renewable energy projects in the Adriatic Sea, and QINT’X, an Italian company specialising in renewable energy. |
| 31 Jul 20 |
Italy: Zenith Energy announces termination of SPA for acquisition of Coro Energy's Italian assets Zenith Energy has announced the termination, by mutual agreement between the parties, of the sale and purchase agreement ('SPA') entered into with Coro Energy relating to the proposed acquisition by Zenith of Coro's entire Italian natural gas production and exploration portfolio. |
| 22 Jun 20 |
Italy: Eni acquires three wind projects in Italy for a total of 35 MW Eni, through its subsidiary Eni New Energy, a group company that operates in Italy, has acquired from Asja Ambiente Italia 100% of the shares in CDGB Enrico, CDGB Laerte e Wind Park Laterza. The three wind farms, that will be built in Comune di Laterza, in the Puglia region, have a peak capacity of 35.2 MW and are expected to produce approx. 81 GWh annually, avoiding around 33,400 tonnes of CO2 emissions per year. |
| 20 Feb 20 |
Italy: Global Petroleum announces update on appeals against Environmental Decrees in Italy Global Petroleum has announced an update on appeals by the Region of Puglia concerning Environmental Decrees related to the Company's Licence Applications in the Southern Adriatic. |
| 16 Feb 20 |
Italy: Eni starts production at 31-MW photovoltaic plant on Porto Torres industrial site, Sassari Eni New Energy, a subsidiary of Eni, has opened its new photovoltaic park in Porto Torres. The plant has a capacity of 31 MW and was developed on areas owned by Eli Rewind, Eni’s environmental company, within the Porto Torres Site of National Interest. |
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
