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Friday, 21 November, 2008, 21:10 GMT | more >>

Italian player eyes TAG alternative



By Upstream staff 

Italian gas company Ascopiave is considering a project with two partners for an alternative pipeline to the existing Trans Austria Gasleitung (TAG) line to bring gas from eastern Europe to Italy, its chairman said today.

Ascopiave's Gildo Salton also told reporters the utility based in the north-east of Italy was in touch with nearby peers about possible alliances.

The 380 kilometre TAG pipeline carries gas from Russia through Austria to Italy, Croatia and Slovenia. It is owned by Italian oil company Eni and Austrian oil and gas company OMV.

"We are working with two partners from eastern Europe on an alternative project to TAG," Salton told Reuters on the sidelines of a conference. "We hope to be able to give essential details by 2008."

Salton said gas for the alternative line could be supplied by Russian gas giant Gazprom or other companies and would come from eastern Europe.

Asked if the gas would come from Russia or Turkmenistan, he declined to give details.

Salton said the idea for the project dated back to mid-2006 and that it was at a preliminary stage.

Gazprom supplies around a third of Italy's gas needs.

Salton said Ascopiave aimed to boost its gas imports via TAG and the existing pipeline Transmed, which links Italy and Algeria via Tunisia, to some 300 million cubic metres from about 120 MMcm now.

Last November, Ascopiave won a contract to import 500 MMcm from Algeria though the Galsi pipeline which is yet to be constructed as part of a major deal to boost Italy's gas imports from Algeria.

Asked about possible mergers between regional Italian utilities, Salton said:

"We are talking with municipal utilities in Veneto and Friuli (regions)." He gave no details.

The chief executive of multi-utility Acegas-Aps, Francesco Giacomin, said there was industrial logic to the idea of a merger with Ascopiave, even if no talks were taking place.

"It would make sense from an industrial perspective. They specialise in gas, we are a multi-utility ... there's a mutual respect between the two companies and that could bring us to the table, but we're not there at the moment," Giacomin told reporters at the conference.

Acegas-Aps also is based in north-east Italy and, like Ascopiave, is worth just under €500 million ($656.1 million).

Giacomin said Acegas-Aps was keen to join Spanish Gas Natural's project to build a liquefied natural gas terminal near the north-eastern Italian port of Trieste, its home base.

"If the terminal in Trieste is approved, we want to enter with an equity stake," Giacomin said, adding he would not deny media reports that his company aimed for a 20% stake in the terminal and 15% share of gas supplies.

Gas Natural's country manager for Italy, Bruno Armbrust, said today the Spanish gas group has not selected partners for the project to build an 8 billlion cubic metre onshore LNG terminal. The project has not yet been authorised. But Armbrust said getting a local partner may help with the permitting process in Italy, which can be lengthy.

Ascopiave's Salton said his company also was aiming to take part in two LNG projects in Italy, but declined to name them.

Friday, 16 February, 2007, 22:50 GMT  | last updated: Friday, 16 February, 2007, 22:50 GMT

Italian plans: for an alternative pipe link to the TAG pipeline
 

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