Listen to the audio version of the article
Decline in consumption, imports off Russia in free fall, but always present, the importance of regasification terminals and a fall in national production. This is how the first quarter of the year can be summed up gas in Italy. According to data from the Ministry of Environment and Energy Security, gas consumption in Italy amounted to 20.5 billion cubic meters in the first 3 months of 2023: 19.4% less than the same period of 2022. A decrease was recorded in March alone of 26.2%, summing up the decline of 8.5% in February and 22.4% in January.
consumption decreases
“It’s a somewhat surprising drop. We knew that household consumption was going down. Now this shrinkage is also making itself felt in large-scale industry: production is falling. A trend that is confirmed by the reduced power consumption. While sales don’t show this drop, it’s because they’re selling less but at higher prices,” comments Davide TabarelliPresident of Nomisma Energia.
According to data from Terna, the company that manages the national transmission grid, Italy consumed 26.2 billion kWh in March, down 5% compared to the same month in 2022. This represents a negative change of 0.9% compared to March 2022 for the industrial sector, where consumption fell by 6.8% in February. The trend reversal in March 2023 was negative everywhere: -5.3% in the north, -5.2% in the center and -4.4% in the south and islands.
Russian gas fell by 73.6%
As for gas flows arriving in Italy, the decline in Russian raw material passing through the pass is confirmed Tarvisio. In the first 3 months, the decrease compared to 2022 is 73.6% to 1.4 billion cubic meters. A crowd that distances the Russia from the podium of the major suppliers of Italy, overtaken by Algeria despite the fall of 11% (4.9 billion in the quarter), by Azerbaijan by Tap (2.4), by Holland and Norway by the Griespass (2.3), by the Arrival of LNG at Cavarzere regasification terminal in Rovigo (2.1). “The Russian current, minimal as it is, has not yet stopped. And if the prices rise again, the volumes will grow as well,” observes Tabarelli.
LNG is coming
The LNG arriving by ship at the regasification terminals is increasing: in March, the mining of Panigaglia was recorded near La Spezia, where 349 million arrived compared to only 23 in 2022. In the quarter, the growth was 590% with 894 million cubic meters: « It is Eni’s LNG that arrives in small cargoes from Egypt: it represents a diversification. We must not forget that the construction of the regasification terminals, together with the fall in demand due to the mild climate is one of the reasons for the drop in gas prices (today at the TTF in Amsterdam at 36 euros per MWh). And the plant in Piombino, with a capacity of 4.5 billion cubic meters, is also going in this direction,” recalls the President of Nomisma Energy. There, too, the first delivery from Eni comes from Egypt.