The role of the sea as source of energy supply in the italian national perspective - Dr. Fabio INDEO
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Dr. Fabio INDEO
The role of the sea as source of energy
supply in the italian national perspective
(code AI-SA-05)
INDEX
Abstract p.2
Chapter 1 – The national energy scenario p.5
1.1 Energy demand and source of imports p.5
1.2 National energy security and geopolitical vulnerabilities: the dependence p.8
on energy imports
1.3 The National Energy Strategy and the sea role in the energy production p.12
Chapter 2 – Italian offshore oil and gas production p.17
2.1 The marine zones p.17
2.2 Offshore national production of hydrocarbons and potential reserves p.20
2.3 The propulsive effect on the offshore operations of the 164/2014 law p.24
Chapter 3 – Renewable energy production from the sea p.31
3.1 Offshore wind: National perspective and EU framework p.31
3.2 Energy from the sea: potentialities and perspectives p.37
3.3 Marine algae and biofuel production p.41
Chapter 4 – Energy supply from the sea: future issues and perspectives p.44
4.1 The decision-making process of the “sblocca Italia law and p.44
environmental issues .
4.2 Endogenous hydrocarbons production or energy hub? p.47
4.3 Threats to the energy infrastructures: the role of the Italian Navy as p.49
security provider
Conclusion p.52
Bibliography p.55
List of acronyms p.62
Note on Ce.Mi.S.S. and the Author p.63
1
Abstract
The condition of dependence on hydrocarbon imports represents a common issue shared
by the main developed countries in the world, mainly because the domestic energy
production is not sufficient to meet the national energy demand. In this scenario, energy
importing countries are dangerously exposed to a vulnerability condition: as a matter of
fact, potential disruptions of import supply are a serious threat which affects their energy
security, even if the negative impact depends on the level of diversification of energy
sources.
Commonly, the energy security is defined in the consumers countries as “the availability of
reliable supplies at affordable price”.
In Italy we can observe a similar scenario: even if energy demand is lower than in the past
years, the limited endogenous production of oil and natural gas entails a strong and
marked condition of dependence on imports (90% for oil and 88% for natural gas imports).
National energy security appears threatened by several factors linked to this dependence
on imports: the vulnerability of maritime routes which cross the energy chokepoints (such
as the Hormuz Strait for oil imports coming from Persian Gulf), the persistent political and
social instability which characterize some of the main energy suppliers (mainly natural gas
and oil imports from Libya and Algeria following the impact of the so called “Arab spring”
events), the confrontation between Russia and Ukraine (strategic transit country crossed
by Russian gas exports to Italy, which covers 47% of total Italian gas imports).
In order to partially solve this condition of vulnerability linked to the high dependence on
energy imports, the Italian Government launched in 2013 the National Energy Strategy,
aimed to increase the domestic energy production of oil and gas as well as of renewable
sources. A national energy policy focused on these two priorities must be supported by the
adoption of a regulatory framework aimed to promote onshore and offshore drilling
activities and an endogenous production of oil and gas, as well as to lead preliminary
exploration and research activities in order to estimate potential reserves.
Furthermore, these targets of the National Energy Strategy are in line with the guidelines
of the European Union Commission set in the climate and energy package, aimed at
reducing greenhouse gas emissions and promoting the production and the use of energy
from renewable sources.
In a scenario of a rising domestic energy production, the sea could play a key role in the
Italian scenario, considering the geo-morphological features of our peninsula - 8.000 km
2costs - and its privileged geopolitical position in the heart of the Mediterranean region.
Thanks to its geographic location, Italy can dispose of additional areas of its national
territory where it can develop exploration activities of hydrocarbons in the sea and test new
technologies for the production of energy from renewable sources such as offshore wind,
energy produced from the sea (wave energy, tidal energy, tidal current power, tidal range
power, etc), algae for the biodiesel production.
Moreover, this strategic geographic position also allows Italy to potentially play a significant
role as EU natural gas hub, delivering additional gas supply to the European markets
(through offshore pipelines and LNG terminals) coming from Caspian region, North Africa
or Middle East in order to enhance the EU energy security condition through an efficient
diversification strategy.
This research is aimed at analysing the Italian energy offshore potential and in which
measure the energy from the sea could contribute to enhance the national energy security:
a potential increase of the endogenous energy production could entail a related reduction
of the dependence on import (with a positive economic impacts on the energy bill) and a
greater diversification in the energy mix for the electricity production, with a raising
contribution of “clean” energy produced from offshore renewable energy technologies.
To realize this research, I analysed official data available on the Italian Ministry of
Economic Development website - concerning the national offshore production of
hydrocarbons and potential reserves - and the research studies and reports of ENEA and
EWEA - on the energy production from the sea – as the starting point to elaborate the
future energy scenario and the perspectives related to the possible contribution of the
energy from the sea to the national needs.
The first chapter outlines the features of the national energy scenario, focusing the
condition of dependence on imports and the role of the sea as transit place: 100% of oil
imports and 30% of natural gas imports are delivered through oil and LNG tankers, and
offshore gas pipelines. Following the launch of the National Energy Strategy, Italy aims to
increase the domestic energy production, thus facing the its existing vulnerabilities and
enhancing own energy security conditions, also through the exploitation of energy
produced from the sea.
Chapter two is dedicated at the hydrocarbons offshore potential. Starting from the actual
data related to wells in production and reserves estimation, the recent legislative
provisions (such as the 164/2014 law, the so called “Sblocca Italia” and also the directives
3aiming to enhance safety during sea operation) could represent an incentive for the
promotion of offshore prospecting activities. The exploitation of the potential offshore oil
and natural gas reserves could allow to increase the national energy production of
hydrocarbons, reducing the dependence on imports and strengthening the national energy
security.
The third chapter is dedicated to the energy produced from the sea, focusing on the
offshore renewable energy technologies and their potential implementation in the national
scenario: offshore wind, energy produced from the sea (wave power, tidal current power,
energy from sea currents, etc), algae for the biodiesel production. On the basis of the
different options, the most suitable areas for the development of “clean” electricity deriving
from natural elements such as wind and water have been detected.
The fourth chapter focuses on the hindrances - environmental ones and related to the lack
of consultations and disagreements between governments and local authorities - which
could delay or block the exploitation of offshore hydrocarbon reserves and the production
of energy from the sea. Moreover, a national energy policy shaped on the development of
energy production from the sea could pose some security problems linked to the necessity
to protect offshore infrastructures: the Italian Navy could play the role of security guarantor,
contributing to the fulfilment and the protection of the national strategic objectives in the
energy field.
The present research highlights the intrinsic potentialities of the energy production from
the sea, even if different problems still exist. The hydrocarbon reserves do not appear
sufficient to modify the condition of national dependence on gas and oil imports, if they are
not associated with energy saving measures and with the massive contribution of the
renewable sources.
Electric energy production from the exploitation of wave and tidal current power represent
interesting options, able to highly and positively impact the energy demand of small and
medium towns, and to contribute both to the production of electricity from green sources –
diversifying the mix of used renewables – and to the fulfilment of the objectives set by EU
through the climate-energy package.
4CHAPTER ONE
The National Energy scenario
1.1 Energy demand and source of imports
In 2014 the Italian energy demand was 166.43 million tonnes of oil equivalent (Mtep), with
a decrement of 3.8% compared to 2013. The decreasing primary energy demand - after
the peak of consumptions which reached 197,76 Mtep in 2006 and partially recovered in
2010 – has confirmed the negative trend of consumption reduction, representing the lower
energy demand in the last 18 years. Several relevant factors have influenced this
decreasing national energy demand: among them, the repercussions of the economic
recession and crisis and a wider energy efficiency. 1
Graph 1:Total primary Energy consumption by fuel (MISE 2014)
1 Ministero dello Sviluppo Economico, La situazione energetica nazionale nel 2014, Ministero dello
Sviluppo Economico Direzione Generale per la Sicurezza dell’approvvigionamento e le Infrastrutture
Energetiche, Luglio 2015, pp. 11-12,
http://dgerm.sviluppoeconomico.gov.it/dgerm/downloads/situazione_energetica_nazionale_2014_v4_con
_allegati.pdf
5According to the first graph, two thirds of the Italian total primary energy consumption are
covered by fossil fuels (oil, natural gas and coal), while the share of renewable sources
has overtaken 20%, in accordance with the EU energy policy directives based on the
reduction of CO2 emissions.
In 2014 the oil demand slightly increased (34.4%, compared to 33.7% in 2013) as well as
the national imports of electricity (5.7%, compared to 5.4% in 2013), while the natural gas
demand decreased (from 33.2% in 2013 to 30.5% in 2014) and the demand of coal was
stable (8.2%). Instead, the increasing use of renewable sources highlighted a significant
and positive trend, accounting for 21.2 % (compared to 19.5% in 2013).2
In spite of the growth of 2.8% of the national energy production in 2014, we can observe
that the domestic production of energy is not homogenous and this follows different trends:
the production of natural gas is irreparably declining, while the national production of
renewable energy is sharply rising and the domestic production of oil is constantly growing
following a positive trend started in 2010.3
In 2014 Italy produced 5.75 million tons of oil (+5% compared to 2013), while the
production of natural gas dropped to 7.28 billion cubic metres (- 7.6%), which represented
the negative peak of the domestic gas production.
At the same time, the Italian energy production deriving from renewable sources is rapidly
rising (+4.7%), driven by the growth of hydroelectric production (+8.1%), while the
production of coal is stagnant. 4
Nearly 50% of the energy produced by renewable sources is used for heat production,
while 45% is allocated for the electricity production and the remaining 5% in the transport
sector (mainly biofuel).
Water is the renewable source most used to produce electricity, accounting for nearly 50%:
solar energy (19-20%), bioenergy (14%) , wind energy (13%) and geothermic energy (5%)
are the other sources within the energy mix.
In the national demand of electricity water and geothermic energy sources cover 40.9%,
while traditional fuels satisfied 44.2 %: moreover Italy imports 14.9% of its electricity
needs.5
2 Ibidem
3 Ibidem, p.13
4 Ministero dello Sviluppo Economico,La situazione energetica nazionale nel 2014, 2015, p.13
5 Ministero dello Sviluppo Economico ,La situazione energetica nazionale nel 2014, 2015, pp.15-17; Terna,
Dati Generali, http://www.terna.it/LinkClick.aspx?fileticket=z78c0JKUYA4%3d&tabid=418&mid=2501
6Graph 2:RES shares in the energy mix
In spite of the reduction of the national energy demand, the decreasing domestic
production of hydrocarbons has pushed the Italian government to increase oil and natural
gas imports, sharpening a dangerous condition of vulnerability which affects the national
energy security, given the high dependence on energy imports.
In 2014 the decreasing consumption of energy caused a reduction of energy imports (-
5.1%) and the dependence on energy imports decreased from 74.7% in 2013 to 73.6%
This trend was particularly evident in the imports of natural gas (-10,1%) and oil (-3.9%):
on the contrary, in 2014 imports of electricity increased (+3.7%).6
In 2014 oil imports were lower than 54 million tons (-7.9% compared to 2013): considering
that endogenous production of oil satisfies only 10% of the total oil demand, the Italy’s
dependence on oil imports accounts for 90%, highlighting a dangerous unbalance and a
marked vulnerability in the national energy security condition.7
6 Ministero dello Sviluppo Economico,La situazione energetica nazionale nel 2014, 2015, p.13
7 Unione Petrolifera, Relazione Annuale 2015, UP, 2015, p.39,
file:///C:/Users/oem/Downloads/Unione%20Petrolifera%20Relazione%20Annuale%202015.pdf
7Concerning natural gas, in 2014 Italy reduced consumptions from 70.1 billion cubic metres
(bcm) in 2013 to 61.9 bcm in 2014 (-11.6%), because of a mild winter season.
Even if Italy benefits of a reduction of its gas imports (-10% compared to 2013), the
constant decreasing of the domestic production of natural gas keeps unchanged the
condition of dependence on gas imports, accounting for 88%.8
We can observe that the Italian vulnerability in its energy security condition is a shared
issue with the other countries of the European Union: the decreasing domestic production
of natural gas also affects the main EU producers – - 12% in Netherland in the period
2010-2014 and -36% in the United Kingdom in the same period – as well as EU countries
are strongly dependent on energy imports in spite of the reduction of consumptions. 9
1.2 National energy security and geopolitical vulnerabilities: the dependence on
energy imports
The strong dependence on energy imports is considered a vulnerability factor which
affects national energy security not only in the economic terms - an increasing portion of
the national budget must be allocated to pay energy imports – but also in terms of security
of regular supply, mainly if the country is not able to successfully achieve a strategy of
geographic diversification of import routes, through the involvement of additional energy
suppliers in order to lessen the threat represented by a potential sudden interruption of
regular supply.
Commonly, the energy security (in the perspective of consumer countries) is defined as
the availability of reliable supplies at affordable prices. 10
It is evident that the worsening relations and tensions among states could damage the
condition of energy security, triggering sudden interruptions of the energy supply, which
are delivered through oil and gas overland pipelines and by maritime routes (oil and
Liquefied Natural Gas – LNG – tankers).
In the overland energy corridors, the main factor of weakness is represented by the transit
in a third country: as a matter of fact, a potential tension between the supplier country and
the transit one could push the latter to hinder the energy supply to reach the consumer
8 Ministero dello Sviluppo Economico,La situazione energetica nazionale nel 2014, 2015, p.14
9 ISPI Osservatorio di Politica Internazionale, Focus Sicurezza Energetica, No. 21, Gennaio-Marzo 2015,
pp. 14-16,
http://www.parlamento.it/application/xmanager/projects/parlamento/file/repository/affariinternazionali/osse
rvatorio/focus/PI0021.pdf
10 D. Yergin, Ensuring Energy Security, in "Foreign Affairs", vol. 85, No. 2, 2006, pp.69-82
8markets, with economic damage for both actors.
The worsening relations between Russia (main EU energy supplier) and Ukraine (transit
country for nearly 60% of Russian imports to EU) clearly explains how the condition of
dependence on energy imports affect EU energy security.
Furthermore, economic and geopolitical tensions among countries could also affect regular
energy supply delivered through maritime routes: in this case, the blockage of the energy
chokepoints – geographic bottlenecks – is the main threat, preventing the transit through
the existent strategic chokepoints (in the EU perspective) such as Hormuz Strait (between
Oman and Iran), Bab el-Mandab (which links the Arabic Sea with the Red Sea) and
Suez.11
By analyzing the Italian oil and gas imports through a geographic perspective, we can
observe how the strong dependence condition on energy imports exposes Italy to the
negative repercussions of the geopolitical instability which frequently affect producer and
exporter countries.
In the oil imports sphere, the Arab Spring events and the following condition of political
instability in North Africa negatively affect one of the main energy supplier for Italy. As a
matter of fact, Libya traditionally was the main oil supplier for Italy, thanks to its huge oil
reserve and the geographical proximity: given the persistent condition of instability and the
existent security threats, Azerbaijan has progressively replaced Libya becoming our first oil
supplier accounting for 17.2% of Italian total oil imports.
In 2010 (before the Arab Spring events), the geographic source of oil imports was equally
balanced, because Middle East, Africa Russia and post soviet countries respectively
covered 33% each of the Italian total oil imports. Following the condition of instability linked
to the Arab Spring events, Africa and Middle East’s shares respectively decreased to
24.8% and 23.8%, while oil imports from Russia (16.5%) and from Caspian Sea
(Azerbaijan 17.2% and Kazakhstan 7.7%) currently accounts for 41% of Italian total oil
imports.12
The vulnerability of security supply is linked to the fact that oil imports from the Middle East
must obligatory cross three chokepoints: Hormuz - where frequent tensions between
Saudi Arabia and Iran could provoke a blockage of the energy transit - , Bab el Mandab –
11 Fabio Indeo, Le minacce sulla sicurezza energetica, in Catia Eliana Gentilucci (a cura di), “Indicatori di
rischio alla sicurezza. Dall’analisi all’operatività. Il caso della criminalità organizzata e metropolitana”,
Progetto di ricerca congiunto CeMiSS-CEFFS Gruppo di ricerca Università di Camerino, Febbraio 2010,
Capitolo 6
12 Unione Petrolifera, Relazione Annuale 2015, pp. 38-39
9severely threatened by war in Yemen and by Somalian piracy - and Suez, where security
and stability depends on the Egypt’s political evolution in the post Mubarak and on terrorist
threats of Daesh. Other oil suppliers Angola, Nigeria, Azerbaijan are countries potentially
exposed to political and social instability, so regular energy supply are not completely
reliable.
The Italian natural gas demand is largely met with imports, delivered with gas pipelines
and LNG tankers which reach regasification facilities along Italian coast.
In 2014 Italy imported 26.15 bcm of natural gas from Russia, which accounted for 47% of
Italian total gas imports and satisfied 42% of national demand. Norway, Netherlands,
Algeria, Libya are the other gas suppliers for our country. Moreover Italy benefits of three
LNG terminals which received supply from Qatar, Egypt, Trinidad and Tobago, Norway,
Equatorial Guinea and Algeria. 13
Natural gas, infrastractures and suppliers
Infrastructures Suppliers Entry point Capacity Imports in % on total
2014 imports
TAG pipeline Russia Tarvisio 32 bcm 26,15 bcm 47,00%
TRANSITGAS pipeline Norway Passo 18 bcm 11,43 bcm 20,71%
and Gries
Netherland
s
TMPC pipeline Algeria Mazara del 30 bcm 6,78 bcm 12,29%
Vallo
Greenstream pipeline Libya Gela 10 bcm 6,51 bcm 11,80%
Panigaglia LNG Algeria 4 bcm 0,02 bcm 0,40%
Terminal
LNG Adriatic Terminal Qatar is the Rovigo 8 bcm 4,47 bcm 7,80%
13 SNAM Rete Gas, Piano decennale di sviluppo delle reti di trasporto di gas naturale 2015-2024, Marzo
2015, p. 31,
http://www.snamretegas.it/export/sites/snamretegas/repository/file/Anno_termico_2014x15/piano-
decennale/consultazione/Piano_decennale_2015-2024.pdf; Ministero dello Sviluppo Economico, Gas
naturale-importazioni, http://www.sviluppoeconomico.gov.it/index.php/it/energia/gas-naturale/importazione
10main
supplier,
4,3 bcm in
2014
OLT LNG Terminal Livorno 5 bcm 0 0
offshore
Total 107 bcm 55,36 bcm 100,00%
Even in this case, by analyzing the geographic provenience of natural gas imports we can
observe the vulnerability of the national energy security condition, given the instability of
supplier countries.
If we exclude gas supply coming from EU – which can be considered “geopolitically safe”
and which increased of 40% in 2014 – 70% of Italian total imports are delivered by country
affected by instability, due to political and social endogenous factors as well as worsening
relations with neighboring transit countries. Libya’s case appears as the most significant
example: in 2010 Libya was our third natural gas supplier: however, following the instability
and internal conflicts linked to the Gaddafi’s removal gas exports to Italy were completely
halted between March and October 2011, exposing Italy’s energy security to a serious
threat.14 Even if Libya recovers gas exports capacity, the dependence on North African gas
suppliers is particularly dangerous given this condition of high instability, fuelled by factors
such as economic and political unsolved issues, the rising presence of jihadist terrorist
linked to Daesh, the overwhelming flux of migrants which wish to arrive in the EU.
These factors could potentially affect another important North African energy supplier,
Algeria.
Until 2012 Algeria was the second largest gas supplier for Italy, accounting for over 1/3
(30.8%) of total national imports, delivering 20.82 bcm of natural gas: despite favorable
conditions (geographic proximity, huge reserves, an existent pipeline with a capacity of 30
bcm of natural gas per year) in 2014 Algerian exports dropped by two thirds.
On the one hand, this evolution is favorable for Italy, allowing our country to lessen the
dependence on energy imports from a country affected by unsolved political and economic
14 Fabio Indeo, The geopolitics of Energy in Mediterranean region: regional needs, security, logistics and
interdependency. A perspective view. CeMiSS, Progetto di ricerca 2012, Roma, 2012, pp.15-18
11problems, even if Algeria was able to contain the potential spread of Arab Spring effects in
2011. On the other hand, Algerian gas exports to Italy still represents more than 10% of the
national gas demand: consequently, in a scenario of instability leading to a potential halt of
exports, Italy should necessarily increase - in the short term - imports from other traditional
suppliers, further sharpening the condition of dependence. 15
Considering that Russia is the main gas supplier for Italy - Moscow accounts for 47% of
Italian total gas imports - the frequent tensions involving Russia and Ukraine (the main
transit corridor to deliver Russian gas to EU) highlights how could be concrete the threat of
a sudden halt of energy supply, damaging EU energy security. In order to prevent this
threat, it will be necessary the realization of alternative corridors bypassing Ukraine (i.e
Turkish Stream pipeline project or the enhancement of the existent North Stream gas
pipeline) or to undertake a serious strategy of diversification of imports, trying to reduce
the relevance of Russian gas.
The vulnerability of the Italian energy system and the dependence on energy imports will
be sharpened in the next years: as a matter of fact, Italy should increase the demand of
natural gas in order to realize the EU energy and environmental policies to gradually
achieve the decarbonisation process, mainly because natural gas is considered a “bridge
fuel” to promote the transition from a fossil fuel economy to a clean and green economy
based on renewable sources of energy.
According to the analysis elaborated by SNAM Rete Gas, in the decade 2015-2014 Italian
gas demand should annually rise of 2.1%, in order to support a potential economic reprise,
a growth of electricity consumptions and a growing use of the natural gas in the transport
sector.
In spite of predictions concerning an increase of the domestic natural gas production -
from 6-9 bcm to 11.3 bcm - imports will be fundamental to meet the national demand: as a
matter of fact, natural gas imports will rise from 55 bcm in 2014 to 73.4 bcm in 2024
pushing Italian government to look for additional 18 bcm to meet internal demand. 16
1.3 The National Energy Strategy and the sea role in energy production
The challenge of the Italian government to mitigate its energy vulnerability and
dependence on imports could be successfully achieved by increasing domestic energy
15 Ibidem, pp.14-15
16 SNAM Rete Gas, Piano decennale di sviluppo delle reti di trasporto di gas naturale 2015-2024, 2015, pp.
33-34
12production, both from hydrocarbons and from renewable energies.
The sustainable production of domestic hydrocarbons and the development of renewable
energies are two priorities action of the National Energy Strategy (NES) – approved on 8
march 2013 – which has been elaborated to address energy policies and future
orientations.17 This strategic document speculates that a combination between an
increased domestic production - from hydrocarbons and renewable energies (combined
with energy efficiency measures) could guarantee an enhaced energy security, a reduced
dependence on supply from 84% to 67% and a consequently reduction of the so- called
external energy bill of about €14 billion per year (compared to the current 44,25 billion). It
is important to underline the reduction of more than 20% of the national cost for energy
supply from abroad in 2014 - compared to 2013 (56 billion euro) - which represents 11.8
billion euro saved. 18
Considering that Italy disposes of potential interesting hydrocarbon reserves (seventh
largest natural gas reserves and sixth largest oil reserves in Europe), the strategy
proposes the development of domestic production of oil and gas (attempting to recover the
same shares of ‘90s), respecting at the same time the highest international environmental
and security standards. According to NES 2013, the current hydrocarbons production
could be increased of about 24 billion boe/year (barrels of oil equivalent) of gas and 57
billion boe/year of oil by 2020, duplicating the contribution to the endogenous production
(from 7% to 14 % of the total energy demand). The development of a hydrocarbon
domestic production will attract about 15 million euro of investments and the creation of
around 25.000 jobs. Moreover, it will allow a reduction of about 5 million euro in the energy
bill by 2020 thanks to the reduction of fossil fuels imports. 19
The increase of energy produced from renewable sources would be also functional to the
decarbonization process and to the CO2 emission reduction, in line and following the EU
guidelines and directives. The Report Energy Roadmap 2050 foresees a reduction of 80-
95% of CO2 emissions by 2015 in respect to 1990 shares, and a reduction of more than
17 Ministero dello Sviluppo Economico, Strategia Energetica Nazionale: per un’energia più competitiva e
sostenibile, marzo 2013,
http://www.sviluppoeconomico.gov.it/images/stories/normativa/20130314_Strategia_Energetica_Nazional
e.pdf
18 Ministero dello Sviluppo Economico, Strategia Energetica Nazionale: per un’energia più competitiva e
sostenibile, 2013, p.5; Unione Petrolifera, Relazione Annuale 2015, p.24
19 Ministero dello Sviluppo Economico, Strategia Energetica Nazionale: per un’energia più competitiva e
sostenibile, 2013, p.110
1395% in the electric sector. 20
In 2008, EU established the Climate and Energy Package (known as the “20-20-20”
package) with the following energy and climate objectives: unilateral EU commitment to
reduce emissions of greenhouse gases by 20% by 2020 taking 1990 emissions as the
reference, to increase energy efficiency to save 20% of EU energy consumption by 2020,
to reach 20% of renewable energy in the total energy consumption in the EU by 2020.
In October 2014, the EU council re-defined the energy and environmental policies setting
more ambitious objectives by 2030. The new targets are: a 40% cut in greenhouse gas
emissions compared to 1990 levels; at least 27% share of renewable energy consumption;
at least 27% energy savings compared with the business-as-usual scenario.21
SEN foresees that renewable energies could cover 22-23% of primary consumption
(compared to 11% in 2010), thank to their increased use on all sectors (electric, heating,
transports). Concerning the sources which composed the energy mix to produce electricity,
SEN foresees a significant increase of renewable energies in respect of the conventional
sources: in 2020 the renewable share in the energy mix will be 30-35%, as natural gas
share will also reach 35%.22
In a scenario characterized by a domestic energy production increase, the sea will play a
key role due to several interlinked reasons. First of all, the geographic conformation of the
Italian peninsula (with 8.000 km of coast and located in the hearth of the Mediterranean
region) allows Italy to have additional areas of the national territory to undertake and
develop exploration activities to find hydrocarbons in the sea bed and to improve and to
test modern technologies for the energy production from renewable sources such as off-
shore wind, energy from sea currents and waves, algae for the biodiesel production.
At present, 67% of the domestic production of natural gas is extracted from offshore fields
(and the remaining share from onshore fields), while concerning oil, only 13% of the
domestic production is extracted offshore and 87% on the mainland. 23
20 European Commission, Energy Roadmap 2050, Communication from the Commission to the European
Parliament, the Council, the European Economic and Social Committee and the Committee of the
Regions, Brussels, 15.12.2011 COM(2011) 885 final, http://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-
content/EN/TXT/PDF/?uri=CELEX:52011DC0885&from=EN
21 ISPI Osservatorio di Politica Internazionale, Focus Sicurezza Energetica, No. 19-20, Luglio-Dicembre
2014, p.14,
http://www.parlamento.it/application/xmanager/projects/parlamento/file/repository/affariinternazionali/osse
rvatorio/focus/PI0019-20FocusISPI.pdf
22 Ministero dello Sviluppo Economico, Strategia Energetica Nazionale: per un’energia più competitiva e
sostenibile, 2013, p.31
23 Ministero dello Sviluppo Economico, Rapporto annuale 2015-attività 2014, Ministero dello Sviluppo
14The presence of oil and gas resources in the sea reinforces the sea role in the energy
production: following the Ministry of the Economic Development estimates, 57% of the
total proved national gas reserves are located in the sea while the proved oil reserves in
the seabed will add up to around 10%.24
In addition to these proved reserves the seabed offers probable and possible
hydrocarbons reserves which could be extracted and made available to satisfy the
domestic energy demand, reducing the import share.
The key role of the sea for the national energy security is also confirmed by the fact that
Italy is completely reliant on oil imports delivered through tankers – and not through
overland pipelines – which can dock in 16 different national ports (among the others
Taranto, Milazzo, Falconara [Ancona] and Augusta). From Genoa and Trieste ports depart
oil pipelines to supply also neighboring countries such as Austria, Switzerland and
Germany. 25
Concerning natural gas, 90% of total imports are delivered through pipelines even if two of
them (Transmed and Greenstream) are two offshore pipelines which cross the
Mediterranean Sea from Africa to Sicily. Moreover, all future pipeline projects (Trans
Adriatic Pipeline, Galsi, Poseidon) will be composed by offshore sections to reach Italian
coasts.
Furthermore, the increase of natural gas imports represents one of the option to better
promote the geographic diversification of supply, even if Italy currently has a total capacity
(17 bcm) not entirely exploited, importing only 4 bcm. 26
Moreover, the lucky geographic Italian position put the country in the front line to become
the eventual European hub for gas, allowing our country to direct on the EU market
additional supply (through offshore pipelines and natural gas) from Caspian, North Africa
and Middle East.
In particular the redistribution of gas supply coming from Capian Sea producers will be
functional for the implementation of the Southern Energy Corridor promoted by EU, to
Economico DGRME, 2015, pp.29-30, http://unmig.mise.gov.it/unmig/stat/ra2015/it/ra2015.pdf
24 Ministero dello Sviluppo Economico, Riserve. Riserve di idrocarburi al 31 Dicembre 2014, Ministero dello
Sviluppo EconomicoDGRME, http://unmig.mise.gov.it/unmig/riserve/riserve.asp
25 International Energy Agency, CHAPTER 4: Emergency response systems of individual IEA countries,
Italy, IEA 2014, pp. 264-265,
https://www.iea.org/media/freepublications/security/EnergySupplySecurity2014_Italy.pdf
26 Ministero dello Sviluppo Economico, Documento di consultazione per una Strategia Nazionale sul GNL,
giugno 2015,
http://www.mise.gov.it/images/stories/documenti/gas/documento_di_consulazione_per_una_strategia_na
zionale_sul_GNL.pdf
15boost the geographic diversification of the supply sources, coherently with the EU
directives and in line with National Energy Strategy objectives. Obviously, this type of
strategy is conditioned by the setting up of a several strategic storage and transport
infrastructures (LNG terminals and gas pipelines, storage deposits) to connect Italian ports
with European markets in order to satisfy the foreseen increase of LNG demand in
Europe.
16CHAPTER TWO
Italian offshore oil and natural gas production
Currently the Italian offshore production of oil and gas differently contributes on the total
domestic production of hydrocarbons: as a matter of fact, offshore natural gas production
is significant (67% of total national production), while offshore oil production accounts only
for 13% of total national oil production.
However, there are several strategic factors which stimulate the implementation of a
national energy policy based on the exploitation of offshore oil and gas reserves, in order
to enhance domestic production of hydrocarbons and to reduce the dependence on
imports as well as reinforcing our energy security condition: the geographic position of Italy
- also considering that the sea represents 64% of national territory - ; the existence of
offshore reserves; a long term expertise in the seabed drilling activities; the evolution of
technologies which currently allow to extend seabed drilling and exploration activities over
4000 metres. 27
2.1 The marine zones
Through a geographic analysis of the Italian offshore hydrocarbon production, we can
observe that the Adriatic Sea and the Sicily channel still detain significant probable and
possible reserves to exploit, while the Tyrrhenian side appears less profitable in terms of
exploration activities. Along the Italian continental shelf, the national government has
created 7 marine zones, areas where energy companies could undertake exploration and
drilling activities as well as to grant production licenses. At present nearly 25% of the
Italian continental shelf (139.656 km2) is interested to exploration and production
activities.28
The seven marine zones are: the Zone A, which comprises the Northern and Central
Adriatic Sea (2% of the Italian continental shelf); the Zone B, which comprises the Central
and Southern Adriatic Sea (nearly 4% of the Italian continental shelf); the Zone C - the
second largest - comprises the Southern Tyrrhenian Sea, the Sicily Channel and the
Southern Ionian Sea (8% of the Italian continental shelf); the Zone D, which comprises the
27 Ministero dello Sviluppo Economico, Il Mare, MISE RAPPORTO MARE 2015, MISE Direzione Generale
per le Risorse Minerarie ed Energetiche, 2015, p.
47http://unmig.mise.gov.it/unmig/buig/buigmare2015/buigmare2015.pdf
28 Ministero dello Sviluppo Economico, Il Mare, MISE RAPPORTO MARE 2015,pp. 39, 69
17Southern Adriatic Sea and the Ionian Sea, accounting for 3% of the Italian continental
shelf; the Zone E, which comprises the Ligurian Sea, the Tyrrhenian Sea and the
Sardinian Sea. Following the 2013 governmental decision to revise the size of the marine
zones, the Zone E has been further expanded - also including the western sector of the
29
Balearic Sea - so widening the drilling and exploration areas; the Zone F is the largest
marine zone, accounting for 9% of the Italian continental shelf: this zone extends to
Southern Adriatic sea and Ionian Sea reaching Messina Strait; the Zone G, which
comprises the Southern Tyrrhenian Sea and the Sicily Channel, accounting for 7% of the
Italian continental shelf. In order to safeguard some particular areas within these marine
zones, the Italian government imposed restrictions to exploration and drilling activities in
areas such as Venice gulf, Egad Islands (Zone C and G), the Naples and Salerno gulfs
(Zone E). 30
29 Ministero dello Sviluppo Economico, Zona E. Cartografia,
http://unmig.sviluppoeconomico.gov.it/unmig/cartografia/zone/ze.asp
30 Ministero dello Sviluppo Economico, Il Mare, MISE RAPPORTO MARE 2015, pp. 70-76
18The marine zones of the Italian continental shelf 31
31 Ibidem, p.69
192.2 Offshore national production of hydrocarbons and potential reserves
In 2014 offshore natural gas fields produced 4.8 bcm of gas - accounting for 67% of total
national production which was 7.2 bcm – while offshore oil production was 0.75 million
32
tons of oil, accounting for 13% of the total national oil production (5.75 million tons).
This production derives from 724 active wells on the seabed (305 produces natural gas
and 56 produces oil). Following a geographic perspective, we can observe that the 305
gas wells are located in Zone A (230), Zone B (47) and Zone D (28), while productive oil
wells are mainly located in Zone B (32), Zone C (22) and Zone F (2). 33
Offshore natural bcm Offshore oil production Thousand of
gas production in in 2014 tons
201434
Zone A 3336
Zone B 755 Zone B 294
Zone C 3,8 Zone C 232
Zone D 733,9
Zone F 33,4 Zone F 227,4
TOTAL 4863 TOTAL 754
Almost 85% of offshore gas production is extracted in the fields and wells located in the
Northern and Central Adriatic Sea: the strategic relevance of these fields can be explained
considering that Zone A accounting for 46% of total national gas production (onshore and
offshore). In the offshore oil sector there is a more balanced scenario, even if oil fields
located in the Central and Southern Adriatic Sea are the most productive.
According an historic point of view, Italy has started exploration activities on the national
seabed at the end of 50’s, following the important discoveries of onshore rich deposits of
methane in the Pianura Padana. Consequently, the first offshore exploration activities took
place in the Adriatic and in Sicily, in the Gela area, trying to find an extension in the seabed
32 Ministero dello Sviluppo Economico, Produzione nazionale di idrocarburi,
http://unmig.mise.gov.it/unmig/produzione/produzione.asp
33 Ministero dello Sviluppo Economico, Il Mare, MISE RAPPORTO MARE 2015, pp. 92-95
34 Ministero dello Sviluppo Economico, Produzione Nazionale Idrocarburi 2014,
http://unmig.mise.gov.it/unmig/produzione/storia/produzione%202014.pdf
20of the hydrocarbon fields discovered onshore.
Since the 60’s the Adriatic Sea clearly has appeared a promising deposit of oil and gas
reserves, and after exploration and drilling activities, the first wells were put on production.
Rich natural gas fields were discovered in the Northern and Central section of the Adriatic
Sea (close to Ravenna), while at the end of 60’s in Calabria was discovered the huge
natural gas field called Luna, which is the second largest after gas fields discovered in
Pianura Padana and Northern Adriatic. 35
In the Southern Adriatic, the Rospo Mare oil fields in on production since 1982, and until
now Edison energy company extracted 92 million barrels of oil.36
Following the exploration and research activities in the Sicilian offshore (Marine Zone C)
between 1970 and 1980 the Italian energy company AGIP discovered Nilde, Prezioso and
Perla oil fields, while in the seabed close to Ragusa AGIP discovered Mila and Vega
hydrocarbon fields. In the 2000’s additional discoveries of gas fields (Panda, Argo and
Cassiopea) pushed Eni to promote a project called “offshore Ibleo” aimed to promote an
37
integrate development for an estimated production of 14 bcm in ten years.
The presence of potential offshore oil and gas reserves which could be developed strongly
supports the aims of the National Energy Strategy, in order to increase domestic
production and to lessen the dependence on imports. Generally, hydrocarbons reserves
are subdivided among proved, probable and possible reserves, according to the
international classification.38
35 Pier Federico Barnaba, CENNI STORICI SULL’ESPLORAZIONE PETROLIFERA IN ITALIA, pp. 3-4,
http://www.pionierieni.it/wp/wp-content/uploads/Cenni-storici-sullesplorazione-petrolifera-in-Italia.-Di-P.-F.-
Barnaba.doc; Ministero dello Sviluppo Economico, Il Mare, MISE RAPPORTO MARE 2015, pp.45-46;
Francesco David e Luciano Lavecchia, Il settore petrolifero siciliano, Associazione Italiana di Scienze
Regionali AISREA, Giugno 2013, p.5, http://www.aisre.it/images/old_papers/david_lavecchia2013.pdf
36 Edison, Campo Rospo Mare, http://www.edison.it/it/campo-petrolifero-rospo-mare
37 AGI, Energia: Eni, progetto "Offshore Ibleo" pienamente sostenibile, 14 Ottobre 2014,
http://www.agi.it/research-e-
sviluppo/notizie/energia_eni_progetto_offshore_ibleo_pienamente_sostenibile-201410141620-eco-
rt10165
38 Ministero dello Sviluppo Economico, Riserve di idrocarburi,
http://unmig.mise.gov.it/unmig/riserve/riserve.asp
21Offshore natural Proved reserves Probable Possible % proved
gas reserves reserves reserves reserves
(bcm)39
Zone A 20251 14344 7659 40,00%
Zone B 5342 5951 2494 10,70%
Zones 3836 12691 2447 8,20%
C+D+F+G
Total SEA 29429 32985 12600 59,00%
Total National 53713 59774 24381 100,00%
natural gas
reserves
(onshore and
offshore)
Offshore oil Proved reserves Probable Possible % proved
reserves reserves reserves reserves
(thousand of
tons)40
Zone B 3374 777 - 4,30%
Zone C 4103 1451 238 5,60%
Zone F 137 550 - 0,40%
Total SEA 7614 2778 238 10,30%
Total national oil 84807 93090 56071 100,00%
reserves
(onshore and
offshore
39 Ibidem
40 Ibidem
22According to MISE, 59% of total Italian gas reserves are located offshore: 40% in the Zone
A (northern and central Adriatic), while oil reserves are almost totally located onshore
(90%), mainly in Basilicata region.
MISE estimates 74 bcm of natural gas reserves on the national seabed: however,
hydrocarbons reserves should be larger, following new exploration activities in the marine
zones, such as the new identified area within the Zone E.
The development of the offshore oil and gas reserves depends on the attribution of
exploration licenses and exploitation concessions: in the last two years, the Italian
government appears inclined to multiply licenses and concessions, boosting a new political
approach in the national energy sector confirmed with the recent legislative provisions
such as the 164/2014 law, the so called “Sblocca Italia”.
On 30 September 2015, Italy granted 23 offshore exploration licenses (in the 90’s these
licenses were more than 80) and 69 offshore exploitation concessions.41
MARINE ZONES LICENSES CONCESSIONS
ZONE A 9 39
ZONE B 5 20
ZONE C 5 3
ZONED 3 4
ZONEF 3 3
ZONE G 3 1
TOTAL 23 69
Moreover, the exploration permits are granted after a long process of evaluation by
different national agencies and Ministries, which also includes the important environmental
impact assessment (VIA): on 30 September 2015 MISE analyzed 41 exploration permits in
their different stages of evaluation.42
41 Ministero dello Sviluppo Economico, Elenco dei permessi di ricerca vigenti,
http://unmig.mise.gov.it/unmig/ricerca/titoliricerca.asp; Ministero dello Sviluppo Economico, Concessioni
di coltivazione nel sottofondo marino, http://unmig.mise.gov.it/unmig/titoli/elenco.asp?tipo=ICM
42 Ministero dello Sviluppo Economico, Elenco delle istanze per il conferimento di permessi di ricerca, Dati
al 30 settembre 2015, http://unmig.mise.gov.it/unmig/ricerca/istanzericerca.asp?numerofasi=4
23The prospecting permits only allow seismic activities of exploration in a limited period of
time (one year) and these are also subjected to a long authorization process which
involves national and local agencies. On 30 September 2015 there were 8 prospecting
permits under evaluation. 43
Oil and gas volumes extracted offshore are delivered onshore by pipelines and then these
volumes are refined and processed in 10 natural gas plants and 3 oil plants. However
some volumes of offshore oil are carried to floating production storage and offloading (FSO
e FPSO). These floating infrastructures (generally big oil tankers) process oil and then
small oil tankers transport onshore these volumes of refined oil. In Italy we have 3 FSO:
Alba Marina (Zone B, in connection with 3 Rospo Mare oil rigs), Firenze (Zone F, in
connection with Aquila 2 and 2 oil rigs) and Leonis (Zone C, linked to Vega well. 44
2.3 The propulsive effect on the offshore operations of the 164/2014 law
The implementation of a legal framework better oriented to promote the development and
the increase of offshore drilling operations aims to extend research and exploration
activities which have progressively reduced in the years, due to negative results. In the last
decade only 12 exploratory drillings have had positive results, 11 containing natural gas
and 1 containing oil (“Ombrina Mare 2 dir” well, in the offshore area of Abruzzo region)
OFFSHORE ZONE A ZONE B ZONE G
DISCOVERIES
(2002-2014)45
2002 CALIPSO 003 DIR A PANDA 001
CALIPSO 004 DIR A
DIDONE 002
2003 ANNAMARIA 002 PANDA OVEST 001
ARMIDA 001 DIR A
2006 BENEDETTA 001 ARGO 001
DIR
43 Ministero dello Sviluppo Economico, Istanze di permesso di prospezione in mare,
http://unmig.mise.gov.it/unmig/istanze/elenco.asp?tipo=PPM&ord=A&numerofasi=4
44 Ministero dello Sviluppo Economico, Il Mare, MISE RAPPORTO MARE 2015, pp. 97-100
45 Ibidem, pp. 88-90
242008 OMBRINA MARE CASSIOPEA 001
002 DIR DIR ARGO 002
In the 90’s, almost 80 new wells were drilled every year, even if most of them were
explorative wells. Later, exploration activities have been drastically reduced, and energy
companies have preferred to develop and to optimize the production in the discovered
fields, rather than to undertake new exploration activities.
In 2014 drilling activities were carried out on 8 offshore wells (development wells) while no
exploration wells were drilled.
Drilled offshore wells in 201446
WELL NAME SCOPE RESULT METRES
ANEMONE Development 3508
012 DIR B
BARBARA D Development Gas 2108
031 DIR B
BARBARA D Development Gas 1196
034 DIR B
ELETTRA Development Gas 1185
003
FAUZIA 002 Development Gas 2308
FAUZIA 003 Development Gas 2387
DIR
REGINA 004 Development Gas 2075
DIR B
ARMIDA 004 Development Gas
DIR A 47
In the last five years, the legislation which regulates exploration and drilling activities has
46 Ibidem
47 Perforato nel 2013 ed ultimato nel 2014
25considerably evolved, in order to achieve two goals: to enhance safety during operations
on the sea and to promote offshore activities boosting energy security.
At the same time, the recent laws have openly confirmed and reinforced some restrictions
to ensure the preservation of marine environment and the safety of offshore activities.
In terms of environmental security, following the oil disaster in the Gulf of Mexico in 2010,
Italy swiftly intervened on the existent legislation, changing some articles of the
environmental code which were further improved in 2013 with the article 35 contained in
the decree-law n.83/2012. 48
The article 35 bans exploration activities, prospecting and production of hydrocarbons in
the marine and coastal areas under environmental protection and also in sea’s zones
located within 12 miles from the external perimeter of these protected areas: moreover,
this article generally forbids all oil and gas extractions and research activities within a
unique and strict limit of 12 miles starting from the coast and from the external perimeter of
marine and coastal areas under environmental protection.49
Moreover, the article 35 in the decree-law n.83/2012 confirms that offshore exploration
activities, prospecting and production of hydrocarbons could be authorized only after a
positive environmental impact assessment.
The Directive 2013/30/EU of the UE Parliament and of the Council on safety of offshore oil
and gas operations was a elaborated after the echo following the 2010 oil disaster: this
Directive aims to create a common European framework to harmoniously regulate the
environmental protection in the offshore activities. 50 On 18 August 2015 Italy implemented
in its national law this Directive with a specific legislative decree n.145.
The main goal of this Directive is to prevent major accidents relating to offshore oil and gas
operations and to contain devastating and irreversible consequences on the marine and
coastal environment; to strengthen the protection of marine environment and of coastal
economies; to establish security conditions for offshore exploration and drilling activities. 51
48 Gazzetta Ufficiale, TESTO COORDINATO DEL DECRETO-LEGGE 22 giugno 2012, n.
83, http://www.gazzettaufficiale.it/atto/serie_generale/caricaDettaglioAtto/originario?atto.dataPubblicazion
eGazzetta=2012-08-11&atto.codiceRedazionale=12A08941
49 However, this article is strongly contested by the regions and environmental associations, mainly because
the non-retroactivity of the article 35 means that the limit of 12 miles can not be extended to all requests
of exploration which are antecedents to the entry into force of the decree-law n.83/2012
50 Gazzetta Ufficiale dell'Unione Europea, DIRETTIVA 2013/30/UE DEL PARLAMENTO EUROPEO E DEL
CONSIGLIO del 12 giugno 2013 sulla sicurezza delle operazioni in mare nel settore degli idrocarburi,
http://eur-lex.europa.eu/LexUriServ/LexUriServ.do?uri=OJ:L:2013:178:0066:0106:IT:PDF
51 Fulvio Conti Guglia e Daniela Di Paola, La Direttiva 2013/30/UE sulla sicurezza delle operazioni in mare
nel settore degli idrocarburi, AGI Energia, 8 Ottobre, 2013,
26In the regional scenario, the adoption of the Offshore Protocol for the Mediterranean Sea
contains some measures aimed to prevent, reduce, combat and control pollution resulting
from the offshore activities: this Protocol came into force in 2011 – two years before EU
Directive – and positively influenced the evolution of the EU legislation concerning offshore
activities and environmental protection.
The cooperation among regional countries is one of the key point in this Protocol, allowing
them to better prevent the impact and negative effects of prospecting and exploration
activities. 52
The national law 164/2014, also called “sblocca Italia” (“unblocking Italy”) represents the
most recent attempt of the Italian government to intervene in the energy policy, regulating
prospecting and exploration activities both onshore and offshore and aimed to increase the
domestic production of oil and natural gas.
This law clearly confirms and further supports the guidelines contained in the 2013
National Energy Security document: to develop domestic energy reserves and resources
in order to boost national energy security condition and overcoming the traditional
dependence on energy imports. As a matter of fact, in the text the exploration activities
and hydrocarbons production are defined as “”initiatives of strategic and common public
interest”. 53
In addition to extraction activities, also the realization of transport infrastructures (import
pipelines, LNG facilities, storage depots, national pipelines) and refining facilities have
been considered as strategic national priorities.54
This strategic dimension of the hydrocarbons exploration activities would allow to facilitate
legal procedures, thanks to a centralization of the decisional power in the energy issues on
the hands of the national government, overtaking eventual oppositions and hindrances
posed by regions and local authorities on prospecting and drilling activities to discover oil
and gas (onshore and offshore).
A single license has been introduced, and this could be used for both exploration and
production activities in order to uniform Italian procedures with the best-advanced
normative of the EU producer countries and to reduce the duration of the authorization
http://www.agienergia.it/Notizia.aspx?idd=1062&id=34&ante=0
52 Ministero dello Sviluppo Economico, Protocollo Offshore,
http://unmig.mise.gov.it/unmig/internazionale/protocollo.asp
53 Gazzetta Ufficiale, TESTO COORDINATO DEL DECRETO-LEGGE 12 settembre 2014, n. 133,
http://www.gazzettaufficiale.it/eli/id/2014/11/11/14A08767/sg
54 Ibidem
27process which in Italy is more than double than the world average. 55
Moreover this law also contains several dispositions aimed to strengthen and to ensure the
environment protections, as the ban to undertake exploration and extraction of non
conventional hydrocarbons (shale oil, tight oil, shale gas) in the national territory, due to
the negative effects of the fracking drilling process on the environment and water as well
as for the lack of available resources..56
The article 38 also introduces another innovation: in order to conserve the national
resources of hydrocarbons located in the continental sea and near the areas with
upstream activities of other coastal Countries, offshore experimental projects for oil and
gas production can be authorized for a five years period (eventually extendible) in order to
test the best technologies to limit the effects of subsidence on the Italian coast, also
triggered by mining activity of the coastal countries, ensuring tax revenue for the State.57
The law 164/2014 has contributed to further improve the national legal framework
positively influencing the restart of offshore exploration and research activities, also
attracting interested energy companies.58
Between 2013 and 2014, following the redefinition of the marine zones – which bans the
concession of new prospecting licenses within an area of 12 miles from the coast and from
marine protected areas – 19 new exploration permits have been granted: 13 in the Adriatic
Sea (Marine Zones A, B, F) and 6 in the Ionian Sea (Zone F).59
Concerning prospecting permits, five of the current 8 were presented in first semester of
2014: 2 in the Marine Zone E, 2 in the Sicily channel and 1 in the Gulf of Taranto while the
remaining three were presented in the Adriatic Sea.60
During the 2015 we can observe the effects of the new normative (“sblocca Italia”): on 21
55 Mattia Santori, Sblocca Italia e trivellazioni. Novità, rivendicazioni, dati di fatto, Formiche.net, 16
Novembre 2014, http://www.formiche.net/2014/11/16/sblocca-italia-trivellazioni-novita-rivendicazioni-dati-
fatto/
56 Gazzetta Ufficiale, TESTO COORDINATO DEL DECRETO-LEGGE 12 settembre 2014, n. 133
57 Mattia Santori, Sblocca Italia e trivellazioni. Novità, rivendicazioni, dati di fatto, Novembre 2014; Ministero
dello Sviluppo Economico, La situazione energetica nazionale nel 2014, Ministero dello Sviluppo
Economico Direzione Generale per la Sicurezza dell’approvvigionamento e le Infrastrutture Energetiche,
Luglio 2015, pp. 68-69,,
http://dgerm.sviluppoeconomico.gov.it/dgerm/downloads/situazione_energetica_nazionale_2014_v4_con
_allegati.pdf
58 Il Sole 24 Ore, Petrolio, via alla ricerca di 15 giacimenti, Il Sole 24 Ore, 5 marzo, 2015,
http://www.ilsole24ore.com/art/notizie/2015-03-05/via-ricerca-15-giacimenti-150054.shtml?grafici
59 Ministero dello Sviluppo Economico, Istanze di permesso di ricerca in mare,
http://unmig.mise.gov.it/unmig/istanze/elenco.asp?tipo=PRM&ord=C&numerofasi=4
60 Ministero dello Sviluppo Economico, Istanze di permesso di prospezione in mare,
http://unmig.mise.gov.it/unmig/istanze/elenco.asp?tipo=PPM&ord=C&numerofasi=4
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