Rome - Saba:
Gilberto Becchetto Frattini, Italian Minister of Environment and Energy Security, confirmed that his country's gas reserves are approaching 80 percent.
Frattin said in statements broadcast by the "Aki" news agency today, Saturday, after the Russian gas transit through Ukraine to Europe was halted: "I reassure everyone regarding the amount of gas stored at the national level, as we currently have approximately 80 percent of it."
Frattin stressed that his country has sufficient gas reserves to ensure that there will be no interruption during the next two months, as winter passes.
Russian natural gas exports via pipelines passing through Ukraine to Europe had stopped at the beginning of the new year, after the expiration of the transit agreement and the failure of Moscow and Kiev to reach an agreement to continue the flows.
Italy has been gradually increasing its LNG import capacity since 2022 as part of its plans to find an alternative to Russian supplies. Italy’s total gas demand is estimated at 61 billion cubic meters last year, with Algeria and the Nordic countries among the main suppliers.
| more of (Economy) |