In Italy, Giorgia Meloni’s government is now aiming to increase domestic oil and gas production. One of the aims is to reduce the country’s dependence on energy imports, reports Il Messaggero.
Italy produced around 15 billion cubic metres of gas at the turn of the millennium, but subsequent governments have not prioritised domestic production, and by 2025 it had fallen to 3.2 billion, equivalent to just over 5 per cent of last year’s consumption of 63.4 billion, writes the Rome-based newspaper. Known, probable and possible reserves of over 80 billion cubic metres remain untapped.
As for oil, domestic production stood at 4 million tonnes in 2025, whilst demand was 55 million. The country has a refining capacity that far exceeds national production.
Oil and gas production is taking place both offshore and onshore in the Italian regions of Emilia-Romagna, Piedmont, Basilicata, Sicily, Apulia and Molise.
The Meloni government took a step towards a more active oil and gas policy in September, when it decided to simplify and speed up permits for exploration and extraction, which goes against the climate policy trend of recent years.
The EU has set itself the target of gradually reducing net greenhouse gas emissions to zero by 2050, but there is no indication that this will happen, even though the Union continues to advocate for it – for example, by opposing oil and gas extraction in the Arctic.
Meloni, who rejects climate policy, recently said that she discussed energy issues, amongst other things, during her visit to Jonas Gahr Støre in Oslo. He advocates climate policy, but the two are almost certainly in agreement on the Arctic issue nonetheless.
Italy is going against the grain amongst the major European countries, given that the UK has offshore reserves it no longer wishes to extract, whilst Germany has onshore reserves suitable for extraction via fracking, which it wants nothing to do with.
