U.S. Energy Information Administration - Italia - Country Analysis Note

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Country Analysis Note

• As a net importer of oil and natural gas, Italy is heavily dependent on imports to meet its energy needs. Net imports of petroleum and other liquids were over 1.1 million barrels per day (bbl/d) in 2013. Italy's main crude oil suppliers are Libya, Azerbaijan, Saudi Arabia, and Russia.
• Italy is a major refining center in Europe and a significant exporter of refined products. Italy has the second largest crude oil refining capacity in the European Union after Germany, with a total capacity of nearly 2.1 million bbl/d from fifteen crude oil refineries, according to Oil & Gas Journal (OGJ). However, Italian refineries are at risk of closing in the next few years because of declining domestic consumption of petroleum products and competition from Asia.
• Italy is the second largest natural gas importer in Europe, after Germany. Natural gas imports were around 2.2 trillion cubic feet (Tcf) in 2013, while dry natural gas production that same year totaled 273 billion cubic feet. The majority of Italy's natural gas imports come from Algeria and Russia via pipelines. Imported gas from Russia accounted for 36% of Italy's natural gas consumption in 2013.
• A significant portion of Italy's imported natural gas comes from Algeria and Libya through the Trans-Mediterranean (also known as Enrico Mattei) and Greenstream pipelines, respectively.
• Gazprom continues to consider Italy along with Austria as a potential end-point of Russia's South Stream natural gas pipeline project, designed to be an alternative to natural gas exports via Ukraine.
• Liquefied natural gas (LNG) accounted for about 8% of Italy's total natural gas supply, mostly from Qatar. Italy has 3 LNG terminals, although they have a total utilization rate of only 45%.
• Italy has the sixth-largest proved natural gas reserves in Europe with 2.1 Tcf, and the fifth-largest proved reserves of crude oil in Europe with 560 million barrels as of January 1, 2014, according to OGJ.
• Italy enacted an offshore drilling ban in 2010, following the Deepwater Horizon oil spill in the United States Gulf of Mexico. Since then, Italy has lifted the ban for certain offshore projects, although the government continues to ban drilling in certain areas near the coast.
• The government's National Energy Strategy calls for renewables to provide 23% of primary energy consumption by 2020, up from 13% in 2012.

Analysis Last Updated: July 2014

http://www.eia.gov/countries/country-data.cfm?fips=IT

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