Iran, Pichetto: ‘We will stop unjustified price increases, gas from Africa and Azerbaijan’

Rome, 6 March (LaPresse) – ‘The legacy of the 2022 crisis is now our energy security.’ In an interview with Il Messaggero, Environment Minister Gilberto Pichetto Fratin emphasised that Italy’s access points are “our security. We will find the gas that is missing.‘ The halt in production in Qatar means ’that beyond the small share of supply to Italy, about 9% of our annual consumption, 20% of the world’s gas is missing, and we do not know for how long. Everyone is on the hunt for the missing gas, that’s true. And this has a significant impact on prices, as we have seen. But we too are able to find alternative supplies.‘ ’For example, from Mozambique, but also from Algeria,‘ explains the minister. ’And then, through the TAP, from Azerbaijan. I don’t see a problem with quantity, so we are not concerned about that. The issue is rather the timing and how long the crisis will last. Of course, our goal is to think about storage for next winter.‘ Pichetto reiterates that ’today we have the fullest storage facilities in Europe, over 45%, well over double that of Germany. And we still have some time. But by mid-April, at the latest by the end of the month, the new gas for next winter must be injected in order to meet the technical pumping deadlines.” Fichetto notes that “a 20% drop in the supply of gas or oil creates, by definition, pressure on prices. This is a situation in which ‘bears” and “bulls”, those who bet on the fall or rise of the prices in question, regularly come into play. This is “good” speculation. Profiteers are another matter. It is on these that we have raised the level of attention, thanks also to Arera with the establishment of the Energy Supervisory Unit.”