On Monday, the Italian and Algerian governments agreed to increase gas supplies from Algeria in a bid to reduce Italy’s dependence on Russian gas. The deal was formalized in Algiers, the capital of Algeria, after a meeting between Prime Minister Mario Draghi and Algerian President Abdelmadjid Tebboune.
By 2024, Italy will receive about 9 billion cubic meters of gas from Algeria, compared to the 22.6 billion cubic meters imported in 2021. Algeria is now the second country for gas supplies to Italy after Russia, which exported about 29 billion cubic meters of gas to Italy last year alone.
The agreement was signed by ENI CEO Claudio Descalzi and Algerian company Sonatrach President Toufik Hakkar. Initially, the Italian government tried to get more supplies more quickly in order to reduce dependence on Russian gas more quickly. The original plan envisaged a significant increase already this year and a full implementation of deliveries in 2023, but in the end an agreement with longer deadlines was found.
Another three billion cubic meters of gas will be delivered this year, and in 2023 the supply will increase by 6 billion cubic meters. Finally, it will be fully operational by 2024 with at least 9 billion cubic meters more gas.
The operation should allow gas imports from Russia to be cut by about a third, while the government will work to find other sources and reorganize consumption to become less and less dependent on Russian supplies. Transmed, the gas pipeline connecting Algeria and Italy via Tunisia, is used to transport Algerian gas.
The Transmed Gas Line (ENISonatrach)
In a brief speech, Draghi explained the rationale behind the new deal: “Immediately after invading Ukraine, I announced that Italy would act quickly to reduce dependence on Russian gas. Today’s agreements are an important response to this strategic goal, with more to come. The government is working to protect citizens and businesses from the consequences of the conflict.”
The increase in supplies was decided at a particularly delicate moment for Italy, among European countries more dependent on Russia for supplies of gas used in industrial plants, heating and electricity generation. Since the invasion of Ukraine began, Draghi had repeatedly stated that he wanted to reduce Russian gas imports by turning to other suppliers, also to protect himself from the risks of sudden supply disruptions by statecontrolled companies and the Russian government. .
In the coming days, Italian government missions are planned in Congo, Angola and Mozambique to evaluate new agreements for the medium to longterm procurement of additional supplies. Italy’s annual gas needs range from 75 to 80 billion cubic meters of gas and it seems difficult to quickly replace Russia’s 29 billion. For this reason, the government is working on plans not only to increase supplies from other countries, but also to reduce and optimize the consumption of both individual citizens and industrial plants.
One of the options concerns a review of industrial activity while maintaining the level of production of companies. In energyintensive, ie energyintensive activities such. Steel and ceramics, for example, the possibility of concentrating activities in certain times of the year when gas consumption is usually lower, in order to reduce consumption and costs, will be explored. At different times of the year, these companies operate at a reduced rate, and by coordinating these periods, energy consumption could be optimized.
The emergency energy plan, which the Minister for Ecological Transition, Roberto Cingolani, has been working on, also provides for the possibility of reducing electricity consumption at certain times of the year, for example by reducing the lighting of monuments and other buildings.
Cingolani, along with the rest of the government, is also working on diversifying energy sources with the goal of increasing the proportion of energy produced from renewable sources. However, activities and investments of this kind take time and may not be an immediate solution in the event of a reduction in gas supply, which would require the use of more readily available but highly polluting sources such as coal.