Italy intends to become independent of Russian gas by 2024: Report

In the midst of the ongoing ruthless war between Russia and Ukraine, Italy intends to be independent of Russia’s gas dependency by the year 2024. Roberto Cingolani, the Minister for Ecological Transition, stated that in the second half of 2024, Italy should be totally independent of Russian gas due to the nation's cost-saving initiatives and new gas suppliers, citing Italian news outlet Ansa, The Kyiv Independent reported.   

Furthermore, in June, without citing any specific reason, the Russian energy giant Gazprom cut the gas supply to Italy by around 15%. The Russian corporation, according to the Italian oil and gas multinational Eni, did not provide a justification for the decrease or an indication of how long it will last. 

A spokesperson with the Italian energy company told TASS on June 15, “Eni confirms that Gazprom has notified it about a limited reduction in gas supplies by about 15% for today. The reasons for the reduction are not disclosed at this time. Eni is constantly monitoring the situation".  

In spite of this, the Italian officials claimed that the nation has enough reserves to make up for any decline in gas shipments, as per media reports. 

Russia cuts 20% capacity of gas supply to Europe

In the meantime, on Wednesday, July 27, the amount of natural gas moving through the key pipeline from Russia to Europe was cut to 20% of capacity by Russia's Gazprom. According to the Associated Press report, Germany argues that Russia's latest cut to Nord Stream 1 is a political manoeuvre intended to raise costs and create uncertainty in the midst of the conflict in Ukraine. Russia has attributed the latest cut to technical issues. 

In addition to this, the state-controlled energy giant in Russia revealed on Monday that it would incorporate the reduction further, raising concerns that Russia might completely cut off the gas in an effort to exert political sway over Europe. However, the company cited equipment repairs as the reason for the reduction. 

Natural gas, which is utilised to heat homes in the winter, power industries, and produce electricity, has seen a spike in price to its highest levels since early March. It is worth mentioning that the increase in energy price is causing inflation, further reducing people's purchasing power, and escalating worries that Europe may enter a recession if enough gas is not saved to survive through the winter, Associated Press reported.  

Due to the concern, EU countries decided to cut back on their usage of natural gas on Tuesday in order to safeguard against additional Russian supply disruptions. 

On Tuesday, July 26, the Kremlin denied charges that Russia is conducting an "energy war" in Europe and said that its state-owned company, Gazprom, has been providing "as much gas as possible" to the EU in response to demand. Dmitry Peskov, the Press Secretary for Russian President Vladimir Putin, said on Tuesday that it would be "wrong" to think of sanctions as a possible explanation for the decreased flow of Russian gas supplies to Europe, as per media reports.  

(Image: AP)