Italy Says Gas Supply From Russia Back To Normal

Italian energy giant ENI said it expected supplies of gas from Russia to return to normal on Jan. 30 after nearly two weeks of shortfalls which have forced Italy to dip into its gas stocks. ENI said in a statement that it expected all 74 million cubic meters of gas it requested on Jan. 30 to be delivered.

Italy has reported continued shortfalls in supplies of Russian gas, sparking a national debate on Italy's heavy reliance on Moscow for its energy requirements and prompting measures to conserve energy.

On Jan. 27, Russia and Italy had jointly condemned Ukraine for siphoning off Russian natural gas transiting to Italy amid ongoing disruption to European gas supplies as a result of bitterly cold weather conditions. "Everyone should follow the rules and therefore it is inadmissible that Ukraine takes from the pipeline a quantity of gas that is meant for Italy," Italy's Industry Minister Claudio Scajola was quoted as saying during a visit to Moscow.

Copyright Agence France-Presse, 2006