According to the Oil and Gas Journal (OGJ, 1/1/05), Italy has proven Crude Oil reserves of 622 million barrels, the fourth-largest in the EU. The country consumed 1.9 million barrels per day (bbl/d) of oil in 2004, a 1.6 percent increase from the previous year. Italy's domestic oil production in 2004 (including total liquids) was 147,000 barrels per day (bbl/d), sufficient to meet only 7 percent of domestic oil needs.

As a result, Italy imported 1.8 million bbl/d in 2004, according to Eurostat, with the largest sources of these imports being the former Soviet Union (28 percent), Libya (24 percent), Saudi Arabia (13 percent) and Iran (10 percent).

Eni is the largest oil and Natural Gas company in Italy. In 1992, the Italian government passed legislation to transform Eni from a wholly state-owned enterprise to a joint-stock company. The government has slowly reduced its holdings in the company since the 1990s, but it still remains the single-largest shareholder with some 35 percent of total shares. In 2003, Eni’s global hydrocarbon production (including liquids and natural gas) amounted to 1.6 million barrels of oil equivalent per day (boe/d), making it one of the largest oil and gas companies in the world.

The company’s hydrocarbon reserves totaled 7.3 billion boe in 2003, spread throughout the globe.

Source: Energy Information Administration