The head of Eni said that Italy can safely survive the winter

MOSCOW, 6 Oct — PRIME. Italy has been able to fill its gas storages and is ready to get through the coming winter, said Claudio Descalzi, head of the Italian oil and gas group Eni.

“Russian gas has been largely replaced, our storage facilities are full,” he said during a webinar hosted by Il Messaggero newspaper.

According to Descalzi, those deliveries of Russian gas that are still ongoing are stable. This is approximately 10-15 million cubic meters per day. However, more Russian fuel is needed to ensure the stability of the energy system, he said.

In addition, the head of Eni did not rule out technical problems with supplier countries and the onset of a colder winter.

“Recently, efficiency has increased and gas consumption has decreased by 10-15%. We should not be pessimists, but realists,” he concluded.

Gazprom suspended gas supplies through Austria on October 1 due to the refusal of the Austrian operator to confirm transport nominations and said it was working on a solution to the problem together with Italian buyers. Claudio Descalzi, head of oil and gas company Eni, explained that the suspension was due to the need to make “financial guarantees” for the passage of gas to the Austrian carrier, and not for political reasons.

On Wednesday, the Russian company announced that it had reached an agreement with consumers in Italy and would resume pumping fuel through Austria.