Caspian Report - Issue: 07 - Spring 2014

ily limited because of the emergency
procedures that were activated. 7 It
is therefore easy to see that the supply
shortage was the result of the low
temperatures, even if it is more difficult
to recognise the size of the increase
in consumption. The obvious
practical implication of resorting to
stored natural gas at the beginning
of the season is the performance decline
acceleration. Italy had already
experienced this phenomenon during
the winter of 2005.
peak demand; that role is carried out
by storage facilities. It can, however,
ensure the replenishment of the reservoirs
during the year, especially
if new storage infrastructures are
build. TAP supplies will also cover a
substantial proportion of demand in
case of the main import routes (e.g.
from Russia or Algeria) experiences
long term disruption.
4. Environmental
implications
AntonIo SIleo
86
Some arguments have been made
in favour of increasing the storage
capacity. In fact, the greater the storage
capacity, the greater the likelihood
of guaranteed supply and, consequently,
Italian energy security.
This capacity, however, comes at an
economic cost (the remuneration of
its capital and operating expenses).
Moreover, while this is a feasible
solution in case of harsh climatic
conditions, Italy is unable to handle
a structural shortage, such as a permanent
reduction in Russian or Algerian
imports.
Italy’s past experiences demonstrate
its heavily storage-dependent
security strategy, shedding light on
the possible implications of a new
source: the TAP. In fact, an Adriatic
pipeline could be a viable alternative
both in terms of capacity (especially
with the extra 20 bcm/year) from
phase II, and in economic terms.
Provided that TAP will work at 80%
of its capacity, it will be able to provide
more than 40 additional bcms
per day. Such volumes cannot meet
The Ilva Case
The Ilva plant in Taranto is the largest
steelworks in Europe. Last year, it
was investigated for its environmental
impact. After the government
commissioner was appointed to
manage the plants transition, there
has been much discussion of ways
to achieve more sustainable production
in the medium and long term.
The production activities of Ilva have
been deemed so harmful to the environment
in terms of pollution that
multiple measures to limit the production
itself have been taken. The
repeated shutdowns of some parts
of the plant in recent years. This culminated
with an AIA (Autorizzazione
Integrata Ambientale) decision
to limit production to 8 mt of steel
per year. This has had repercussions
for the entire Italian steel industry,
which was already in trouble.
Among the potential plans for modernising
the plant to make it more
competitive and sustainable, one
entails a radical change in the pro-
7.
Just planned to face the lack of gas requirements coverage in case of adverse climate events in the
decree of the former Ministry of Industry on 26 th September 2001.