Italy used 70% of its gas stocks this winter: Scajola

London (Platts)--24Mar2006

Italy used a total of 9.3 billion cubic meters, or 70%, of its 13.2 Bcm
of gas stocks during this winter's gas emergency, industry minister Claudio
Scajola said Friday.
The depletion of stocks saw 3.4 Bcm more used during this winter than an
average winter, he said. The minister also echoed Eni CEO Paolo Scaroni's
declaration earlier this week that the "gas emergency is over."
Scajola said that 1.2 Bcm of the country's 5.1 Bcm strategic reserves
were used. The emergency measures implemented by the government had saved the
depletion of a further 2.1 Bcm, he said. The government rushed through
emergency measures, which made consumers reduce their domestic heating and
allowed a number of power stations to switch their feed stocks to oil.
In order to confront a similar situation next winter, Scajola said that a
number of measures would be needed. These are: more incentives for
interruptible contracts; a cut in power station demand and an increase of
supply and storage. The ministry's plan from 2007 is to increase the supply of
gas on the market and provide incentives for developing more storage sites.
Italy was hit by a particularly cold winter which saw demand increase
close to 20% at its coldest points year-on-year. Demand was further swelled by
a number of new areas of the country becoming gas users for the first time. At
the same time, competitive power price spreads encouraged Italian generators
to start exporting power, much of which was generated from gas-fired sources.
The stand-off between Russia and Ukraine, and ensuing supply shortages along
the gas route from Russia also hit supply.
--Gianluca Baratti, gianluca_baratti@platts.com


 

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