Italy's Dependence on Russian Gas Drops to 25%

Italy has dropped its dependence on Russian gas from 40% to 25%, Prime Minister Mario Draghi said at a summit of EU leaders today.

• Italy has sourced gas from other regions while looking for ways to reduce gas consumption including increasing coal demand. Italy’s Enel said earlier in the week they expect to use 8 million tonnes of coal this year, double the amount of last year.
• Draghi said that a possible price cap on gas would be discussed by leaders from the G7 at a meeting that starts on Sunday. Italy have publicly voiced strong support for gas price caps and are eager to get other EU nations on board. The EU has agreed to put a report together on the idea.
• Eni’s CEO has previously said that Italy will cope without Russian gas this winter if the country can get storage levels to 70-80%. Eni has said they will be 80% independent from Russian gas flows the winter after next as they seek alternative gas supplies.
• Eni has been receiving consistent shortfalls in gas deliveries from Russia since last week.