Italian imports of Libyan gas increase

ROME, Jan. 12 (UPI) -- Though natural gas demand in Italy was down modestly, the latest information shows gas imports from Libya were up since the war ended, the government said.

In October, Italian energy company ENI announced it started testing activity with Libya's state-run National Oil Corp. for the release of natural gas into Greenstream.

By November, the country was importing roughly 1.5 billion cubic feet of natural gas from Greenstream, the Platts news service reports. The Italian government had said that volume is half what it was importing before the conflict began in February, but up from the October levels.

Overall natural gas demand in Italy declined 2.5 percent in 2011 compared with the previous year, however.

Italy had received nearly 10 percent of its natural gas from Greenstream before the Libyan war began in February. ENI said the Wafa field, which had supplied Greenstream gas, was used during the war to provide electricity to the local population.

ENI Chief Executive Officer Paolo Scaroni traveled to Tripoli in September, the first visit for any major international company since the war began. The company in August signed a deal with the transitional government that outlined restart plans for the Greenstream pipeline.