Italy to resort to Algerian natural gas, says President Napolitano

Italy will resort to the Algerian natural gas as recourse to the drop of Libyan gas supplies, following violent turmoil that shakes the North African country, Italian President Giorgio Napolitano said on Monday in New York.

• In a speech addressed at the United Nations, M. Napolitano said the suspension of Libyan natural gas supply via Green Stream pipeline, linking Libya to Sicilia, could be caught off, by resorting to the Algerian natural gas, which assures 33% of Italian needs. He further reassured that the Italian economy and energy security would not be affected by the crisis in Libya, as long as there are alternatives of the Algerian and the Russian natural gas supplies.
• In fact, Italy will become more dependent to the Algerian gas, as soon as Galci pipeline becomes operational, and which would bring Algerian natural gas supplies to Italy from 33% to 45%.
• Algeria assures natural gas supply to Italy and Tunisia since 1983 via Trans-Med pipeline, which carries about 27 bln cubic meters a year, and likely to be increased to 33.5 bln cubic meters as by 2012.
• It is worth to mention that Algeria is the sixth-largest producer of natural gas in the world.