ENERGY RESOURCE EXTRACTION SITES: OIL AND GAS

The concession for hydrocarbon exploitation is issued by MASE at the end of a long and complex procedure that begins with an application for an exploration permit. Currently, the request can only be submitted for the exploration of gas fields and only in areas deemed potentially suitable by PiTESAI. Initially, non-invasive surveys (prospecting) are carried out, and if potential hydrocarbon deposits are identified, authorization is requested to drill an exploratory well. If the well is successful, an application for concession is submitted. The granting of the mining title (permit/concession) is subject to the EIA (Environmental Impact Assessment) conducted by MASE, the opinion of the involved Entities, and the review by CIRM (Commission for Hydrocarbons and Mineral Resources). As of 11/30/2024, there are 154 active hydrocarbon exploitation concessions (55 offshore) and 23 exploration permits (6 offshore) (Table 1). 27 exploitation titles and 2 exploration permits have ceased and are awaiting the environmental restoration of the area. The cancellation of a mining title is, in fact, contingent upon environmental restoration, which takes place after the preparation of a remediation plan and ministerial evaluation in agreement with the competent region.

The onshore area covered by active titles amounts to 8,666 km², of which 4,517 km² are for exploration permits (Table 1), with a reduction of 1,340 km² compared to the previous year. The regions with the largest portions of territory covered by hydrocarbon mining titles are Emilia-Romagna (41), Sicily (18), Marche (16), Basilicata (12), and Lombardy (11), with a high concentration of exploitation concessions in the provinces of Bologna (14), Matera (10), Fermo (9), and Foggia (6). In the offshore subsurface, Zones A and B stand out for the high number of concessions (31 and 18 respectively) (Table 1).

The 15 active gas storage concessions, by reinjection into depleted reservoirs, remain unchanged and are concentrated in the Po Valley (6 in Lombardy and 5 in Emilia-Romagna) (Table 2). However, the surface area covered by titles does not reflect the real impact on the territory, since title areas are defined by current regulations as arcs of meridians and parallels of approximately 1°, and are therefore much larger than the areas actually occupied by the facilities. The actual land consumption due to exploitation activities in Italy is about 14.1 km², corresponding to 0.0047% of the national territory (Table 3). The highest land consumption occurs in Emilia-Romagna, amounting to 0.022% of the regional territory. Within the title area, zones not used by facilities remain freely accessible for other uses.

The assessments for 23 exploration permit applications are underway, including 11 offshore, and 5 exploitation concession applications, of which 1 is offshore (Figure 2). The amount of material extracted in 2023 shows a decrease in oil production, which stands at 4.23 million tons, accompanied by the ongoing historical decline in gas production, now down to just over 3 billion Sm³ (Table 4, Figure 1).

Oil production is concentrated onshore (91% of the national total), thanks to fields in Basilicata and, to a much lesser extent, in Sicily. Since 2023, onshore gas production has surpassed offshore production (50.6% vs. 49.4%). Most gas is now produced from onshore wells (50.6% of the national total) due to the production decline in Zone A (from 26.6% to 22.9% of the national total). Onshore, significant gas production is found only in Basilicata, which accounts for 36.6% of the national total (Table 5, Figure 4).

As of 11/30/2024, there are 825 productive wells onshore, of which 399 are delivering oil (71) or gas (328), with a higher concentration in Emilia-Romagna (187 gas and 6 oil) and in Sicily (41 gas and 31 oil), and at the provincial level in Bologna (125 gas wells), Florence (42 gas), Modena (25 gas, 6 oil), and Caltanissetta (28 oil). The other 426 productive wells were not producing at the time of the survey. Offshore, out of 700 productive wells, 195 are producing, mostly extracting natural gas (138), particularly in Zone A (8) (Table 1).

Italian hydrocarbon reserves are calculated according to internationally defined criteria and are divided into proven, possible, and probable categories. In 2023 (Table 6), proven gas reserves stood at 41,807 million standard cubic meters, 65.2% of which are located onshore. Proven recoverable oil reserves are estimated at 84,630,000 tons concentrated onshore (94.2%), especially in Southern Italy and mostly in Basilicata. This distribution, showing greater oil reserves than gas, is reflected in the historical trend of extraction (Table 4, Figure 1). Gas production reached its historic peak in 1994, when it covered 40% of national demand, followed by a progressive decline. Conversely, oil production has remained between 4 and 6 Gt annually over the past 35 years.

The trend in natural gas production indicates a progressive depletion or partial exploitation of old fields not offset by new discoveries entering production, also due to a lack of investment in exploration. The development of the two most promising discovered gas fields is currently blocked for different reasons. The first (North Adriatic) due to the hazardous impacts on the Venice area, while the second (Argo-Cassiopea-Panda offshore of Gela) is still suspended.

From a reservoir geology perspective, the most important petroleum provinces are the Upper Adriatic and Po Valley (gas and oil), the Pescara Basin (oil and gas), the Southern Adriatic (oil and gas), the Southern Apennines (oil), the Bradanic Trough in Apulia (gas and oil), the Calabrian offshore (gas), Central Sicily (gas), and the Pelagian Islands Basin (oil) (Figure 5). However, there are still large areas where exploration activities have been limited or absent due to logistical and/or economic reasons or, in the case of border waters, international politics. The Italian parts of the deep Southern Adriatic and Ionian basins remain largely unexplored, although neighboring countries (Croatia, Montenegro, Albania, Greece) are investing heavily. A similar situation is seen in the Sicily Channel, where some companies are exploring seabeds adjacent to Italian waters, with significant discoveries. The Provençal Basin west of Sardinia is practically unexplored.

The situation differs in the Tyrrhenian Sea, whose geological features offer little prospect of discoveries. Environmental issues related to extraction processes should therefore be framed and evaluated also within the geopolitical context of the Mediterranean, considering that coastal countries, whether neighboring Italy or not, have opened almost all of their seabeds to exploration and exploitation, and that potential incidents could also impact marine areas under Italian jurisdiction (Figures 6 and 7). There is no updated cartography of the Mediterranean area, but Figures 6 and 7 still provide an indication of the major ongoing interests at the continental scale and the potential risks for our seas.