Italian gas imports from Russia have been cut to 10% as a result of recent energy agreements with Libya and Algeria.
“We used to provide 40% of our gas needs through Russia, and today it has decreased to just over 10%, and thus we have effectively overcome our dependence on Moscow,” Italy’s Minister of the Environment and Energy Security, Gilberto Pichetto Fratin told newsmen.
The minister said that the increased gas imports from Azerbaijan and Africa passing through the Adriatic Sea as a result of the new agreements with Algeria and Libya compensated for the decrease in Russian supply.
A contract to produce eight billion dollars worth of gas to increase Europe’s energy supplies was signed on January 28 by the National Oil Corporation and the Italian energy firm Eni.
The accord was overseen by Italian Prime Minister Georgia Meloni while she was in Tripoli early this year.
By developing two offshore gas fields, Libya is able to enhance its gas supplies for the domestic market and increase its exports.
Eni predicts that each field will begin producing by 2026, with a daily goal of 750 million cubic feet.
Italy receives gas from Libya via the Green Stream pipeline. To stop relying on Russian imports, Eni will have to boost the pace at which gas is pumped through this pipeline.