Nord Stream gas leaks issue "very worrying", Enel CEO says

A government source said that Italy would not be impacted by the leaks and ruled out declaring a state of alert on energy supplies. Since Russian invasion of Ukraine, Italy has reduced its reliance on Russian gas supplies and also uses a different route for its imports from the country.

The discovery of leaks on the two Nord Stream gas pipelines is "very, very worrying" because it shows that there is an attempt to exploit energy market mechanisms, Enel Chief Executive Francesco Starace said on Wednesday. Denmark and Sweden on Tuesday said major leaks on the two pipelines in the Baltic Sea were caused by deliberate acts of sabotage carried out in each of the two countries' exclusive economic zones.

The pipelines, designed to bring gas from Western Siberia's Yamal Peninsula directly to Germany, Europe's biggest economy, have been the focus of an energy war between Russia and its traditional European clients over the conflict in Ukraine. A government source said that Italy would not be impacted by the leaks and ruled out declaring a state of alert on energy supplies.

Since Russian invasion of Ukraine, Italy has reduced its reliance on Russian gas supplies and also uses a different route for its imports from the country. Starace told a conference in Milan that the increased volatility in energy prices caused by political tensions between Russia and Europe were forcing energy groups to use an increasing amount of cash to guarantee derivative contracts.

The Italian government should support the country's groups as other European countries have already done, Starace said.

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