Italian Energy Company Suspends Gas Pipeline to Libya

[steve2470]

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/02/23/world/europe/23italy.html

ROME — Concerns rose about Italy’s natural gas supplies on Tuesday, after the country’s main energy company, ENI, said it had suspended supplies through its Greenstream pipeline, which runs from Libya to Sicily and supplies 10 percent of Italy’s natural gas.

In a statement, ENI said it was “still able to meet its customers’ demand for gas,” while a spokesman for ENI, Gianni di Giovanni, told the Sky Tg24 news channel that the company was “moderately concerned” about the suspension. He said Italy could draw on energy imports from Russia, Algeria and Norway, as well as its own reserves.

ENI temporarily closed the pipeline after the supplies feeding into it were disrupted. The ANSA news agency reported that the closure was a precautionary measure after many of ENI’s employees in Libya did not show up for work.

Italy’s minister for economic development, Paolo Romani, said Italy was not at risk and that a meeting had been called for Wednesday to discuss the nation’s energy supplies.